Kompong Cham province police are blaming black magic for the shooting deaths of a CPP activist and his wife as they slept in their beds Sunday.
Kem Kun, 28, and Thorn Thim, 22, both farmers in Damnak Ampil village in Prey Chhor district, have confessed to shooting Kem Ky, 57, and his wife, Nhem Ouk, 55, police said.
The suspects blamed Kem Ky for working a black-magic curse that they claimed killed Kem Kun’s sister, Kompong Cham province Judicial Police Deputy Chief Seng Sokim said.
As Kem Ky, who is not related to Kem Kun, and Nhem Ouk slept in their shack, the shooters crept up on them and fired a single shot, Seng Sokim said.
The bullet penetrated Nhem Ouk’s head and struck Kem Ky in the throat. Both died instantly, Seng Sokim said.
Police said Kem Kun’s sister fallen ill and he took her to a traditional Khmer doctor.
A few days later, the woman died and the doctor blamed the CPP activist, claiming that Kem Ky was a former monk who could work magic, police said.
Kem Kun borrowed a rifle belonging to Thorn Thim’s father-in-law to kill Kem Ky, Seng Sokim said.
Authorities have prepared murder charges against both men, but they have not been formally charged because the court has not convened, provincial prosecutor Ouk Touch said.
Several killings have occurred in the last year following accusations of sorcery, which is still widely believed in by rural Cambodians.
