Police in Prey Veng province say that three men suspected of hacking a farmer to death in Kompong Leav district on Monday may have fled to Thailand, an official said on Tuesday. Heng Touch, 30, was attacked while tending to his lotus farm in Kompong Russei commune on Monday evening, according to district police chief Oung Phan.
“He was hacked to death by three men using a machete, an ax and a metal chain,” Mr. Phan said, adding that the suspects were all relatives of Heng Touch and suggesting the murder was likely an act of revenge related to a land dispute.
The police chief said the suspects used to work on construction sites in Thailand and had likely fled there to avoid arrest.
“We deployed forces [near the crime scene] both day and night to look for them, but we did not find them,” Mr. Phan said.
“We suspect they escaped to Thailand and plan to work there [again].”
He said investigators had requested an arrest warrant for the trio from the Prey Veng Provincial Court.
“Those three men cannot escape from our police net because we know their identity,” Mr. Phan said, declining to name the suspects.
