Police in Kompong Chhnang province on Thursday said they had questioned two suspects in the September gang rape and beating of a 14-year-old girl in Kompong Chhnang province, as well as a teenage friend of the victim who is accused of aiding the attackers.
The suspects were the first to be questioned in the more than two weeks since the victim’s father filed a complaint over his daughter’s rape on October 19. The victim was found unconscious on a sidewalk in Kompong Chhnang City on the night of September 21, about five hours after she left home to attend a concert with her 16-year-old friend. She was taken to Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh with severe head injuries, where doctors found that she also had injuries to her genitals.
After lying in a coma for about three weeks, the girl awoke on October 15 and told her family that her friend had lured her to a school where four men ambushed, beat and raped her, according to her father.
Thursday, Pol Vuthy, deputy provincial police chief, said the two men had been questioned at the provincial police station, but declined to name them.
“We already questioned two men suspected of being involved with the case, but we did not arrest them because we have no evidence yet,” he said.
Srey Soda, deputy chief of the provincial police’s serious crimes bureau, said he was still questioning the 16-year-old girl.
“I am not finished questioning her yet. We are still processing the case,” he said.
