Kompong Thom Provincial Court on Thursday charged a 22-year-old man with premeditated murder after he allegedly lobbed a grenade into the middle of a wedding dance party on Saturday killing 10 people and injuring 37 others, a court official said.
Seng Mengsrun, the court’s deputy prosecutor, said suspect Khoem Dara was charged and sent to the provincial prison to be detained ahead of trial.
“He is charged with premeditated murder,” Mr. Mengsrun said, adding that he could not comment on what evidence led to the charge, because the case remains under investigation.
The provincial police chief, Phan Sopheng, said police continue to search for three other suspects who are wanted in connection with the bloody attack.
Mr. Dara was arrested, he said, “because of evidence found by police after the attack,” which appeared to have been carried out as an act of revenge after the two men had a fight.
“He was the one the groom had beaten up before the wedding day, and he got very angry,” Mr. Sopheng said, adding that the groom had also threatened to kill Mr. Dara.
He said a witness had overheard Mr. Dara boasting about the success of the attack and that his wife was seen at the wedding, indicating that he could have been there too.
“We have lots of evidence that led to the arrest: The fight before the wedding, the suspect’s bike was seen there, people spotted his wife eating noodles nearby, and he was overheard talking with three other people who were on two Daelim bikes, saying that they had managed to ruin the wedding,” Mr. Sopheng said.
Six people died immediately from injuries to their upper bodies caused by the explosion, which happened at about 10:30 p.m. The other four died later. One of the bride’s legs was injured and her groom injured his shoulder.
