The 35-year-old vagrant accused of stabbing to death a Dutch woman and leaving her infant daughter critically injured was charged with murder on Saturday by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court and sent to Prey Sar prison, police said.
Municipal penal police chief Eng Sorphea said the court questioned Chea Phin for two days before charging him.
“He was charged with murder and was sent to pretrial detention in Prey Sar prison,” Mr. Sorphea said, adding that he was charged late Saturday afternoon after the investigating judge and deputy municipal prosecutor completed questioning at the court.
Meas Chanpiseth, the deputy municipal prosecutor in charge of the case, declined to comment Sunday.
Last week, Mr. Phin confessed to stabbing Daphna Beerdsen and injuring her 19-month-old daughter Dana at their home off Norodom Boulevard during a botched robbery attempt.
At court on Friday, Mr. Phin said he was drunk in the early hours of the morning of May 28 and saw the gate of Daphna Beerdsen’s home open, at decided to enter and steal a bike.
The victim tried to stop him, so he stabbed her to death with a screwdriver.
