Police in Kompong Thom province have arrested three men accused of raping a cashew farmer who they dragged into the jungle after inviting her and her husband to join them for a drink, officials said.
The 32-year-old woman and her husband had been walking home from their cashew farm in Prasat Balaing district when the men—whom deputy provincial police chief Ke Khannara identified as Yorn Sopheak, 26, Thai Noun, 25, and Sok Chea, 27—invited them to have a drink, district police chief Pol Thoeurn said.
“The husband and the suspects were drinking together, while the wife was just waiting,” Mr. Thoeurn said on Tuesday.
The men then dragged the woman into a nearby jungle at about 7.30 p.m. on Monday and “started scuffling with the husband,” beating him with their hands, he added.
The husband “ran to the village to inform the village chief” of the incident, as the men took turns raping the victim, Mr. Thoeurn said.
He said the suspects had offered the victim 15,000 riel, or about $3.75, after the attack, which she had refused.
Mr. Khannara said police had found the woman walking home, and arrested Mr. Sopheak and Mr. Noun shortly after the attack, while Mr. Chea was arrested on Tuesday morning by police officers who had surrounded the jungle.
The men confessed to the rape during questioning at the district police station, where they were being detained before being sent to the provincial court today, Mr. Khannara said.
The victim received medical treatment at a nearby women’s NGO, he said.
