Police in Phnom Penh arrest two men in Sen Sok district on Monday for allegedly raping and impregnating their 11-year-old niece, police said yesterday.
Leng Bunseng, 33, and Muong Bunly, 56, were arrested on Monday evening in Khmuonch commune after they allegedly raped the girl on multiple occasions since May, said Nhoem Savuth, police chief of the district penal bureau.
“Bunseng confessed that he raped the victim nine times and Bunly confessed to four times at the victim’s home,” Mr Savuth said. “It is a brutal case because they committed the crime on their niece.”
During an interview at Sen Sok district police station, the alleged victim, who is seven months pregnant, said her aunts’ husbands repeatedly raped her when she was left at home with them.
“I asked police officials to please punish their crimes. I hate them very much,” she said.
A doctor at a local clinic confirmed that the girl was seven months pregnant, he said, adding that the uncles sometimes paid 3,000 to 5,000 riel, or about $0.75 to $1.25, to the victim after they allegedly raped her. “We are preparing documents to send the suspects to the Municipal Court” on Dec 8.
The victim’s 32-year-old mother discovered on Sunday that her young daughter had been raped when she found out about the pregnancy from a doctor at a medical center.
“I am very regretful. Now I am ashamed when my neighbors ask about my daughter and what happened to her,” Ms Chanthy said, noting that she lodged a complaint with the police on Monday. “I asked police officials to please prosecute them by the law.”
The victim noted during yesterday’s interview that she kept silent about the rape because her uncles, who raped her separately, threatened to kill her family if she told anyone. “The first time [Bungseng] put a drug in orange juice to make me unconscious. He threatened to kill all my family if I told the story to another person.”
Am Sam Ath, technical supervisor at Licadho, in light of the latest case called for police to pay close attention to child rapes. “I am very concerned that the rape cases still happen, especially if they involve relatives,” he said, noting that the rights group recorded 203 rapes of minors across 14 provinces from January to November.
Thun Saray, president of rights group Adhoc, said the number of child rapes remained high. “This is a shocking case. Authorities should enforce [the law] and educate people more.”
Adhoc recorded 300 cases of rape from January to July this year with 195 cases involving victims who were under or close to 10 years old. However, the Interior Ministry recorded 188 rape cases between January and August this year.
