Tourists Upset By Reports of Rape at Beach

sihanoukville – Hotels in Sihan­oukville are warning their guests not to walk on the beach alone at night after hearing reports that a tourist was raped at gun point early Thursday morning.

Michael Warwick, 27, said that the couple staying next door to him at the GST Guesthouse told him a Canadian woman in her mid-20s woke them up early Thursday morning, claiming that she had just been raped by a man in uniform.

“Apparently she had been walking alone on the beach around 2 am and a man in a police-looking uniform had pointed a gun at her and raped her,” he said. “The first reaction from people who heard about it was to just leave. It’s one of those things that you hear about, but you can’t really believe it when it happens.”

Canadian Ambassador Stefanie Beck confirmed that the victim sought assistance at the Canadian Embassy in Phnom Penh on Thursday.

“All I can tell you is that we are aware of the case,” Beck said Sunday.

Guest house receptionist Zak Gnung said that the woman, who seemed very upset but would not say what was wrong, asked him for the telephone number of the Canadian Embassy at around 3 am Thursday. She did not want anyone to call the police, he added.

“She only asked me for the phone to call the embassy,” guest house owner Keo Reasei said. “I would have helped her, but she kept it a secret.”

On Chun, deputy anti-human traf­­ficking police chief for Sihan­oukville, said that he heard about the rape from people on the beach, but the incident was never reported to the police. Maybe it is all just a rumor, he said.

Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, and Meach Sophana, foreigner de­part­ment police chief, were both unavailable for comment Mon­day.

“We couldn’t believe it when we heard,” said Denise Charles, 26, also from Canada. “We thought this was supposed to be a great paradise place.”

 

 

 

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