The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday charged 14 men with gambling following their arrest last week at a well-known cockfighting venue in Sen Sok district, an official said Wednesday.
District police nabbed the suspects, who are all in their 20s, during a raid Saturday afternoon on the makeshift venue set up on a stretch of wasteland in Khmuonh commune, according to district police chief Mok Hong.
“It is a famous place for cockfighting and dice games, with cockfighting games taking place in the daytime and dice games played in the evening,” he said, adding that the rest of the 60-strong crowd scattered when police showed up Saturday, evading arrest.
The bloody match had already been fought when police arrived, but they seized the winning cock and brought it to the courtroom Wednesday, where it was given its own cell adjacent to one occupied by the 14 suspects.
“The cock is here as evidence for the case because they were betting on a cockfight,” deputy prosecutor Keo Socheat explained, adding that he charged the group with gambling.
