Woman Killed During Second Attempted Rape

An 18-year-old deaf woman who was the victim of an attempted rape in 2005 has been killed in Kampot province during another rape at­tempt, police said.

Chorn Y’s body was found about 50 meters from her home in Chhuk district’s Trapaing Bei commune on Tuesday morning with her throat cut and her dress pulled up around her head, said commune police chief Chan Seng.

“Investigation showed that the rape was not successful. She probably tried to fight back which was why she was killed,” he said, add­ing that the murder occurred Monday.

The man who tried to rape Chorn Y in 2005 was never arrested, but was invited by commune police to negotiate a compensation payment with the victim’s family, said Try Chhoun, provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc.

The victim’s family accepted $50 from the suspect’s family and agreed not to pursue charges, she added.

That same man may well have killed Chorn Y in revenge for originally complaining to the police, Try Chhoun said. The man disappeared from Trapaing Bloek village, where they both lived, three days before the murder, she added.

“Police made a big mistake by not sending the first case to court. Attempted rape is also a serious crime,” Try Chhoun said.

Chan Seng denied his commune police office brokered the deal two years ago following the first rape attempt of Chorn Y.

“Although she was the victim of another attempted rape, the previous suspect is not involved in this case,” he said, adding that the original attacker recently went to visit family in Sihanoukville.

Uy Vorng, provincial anti-human trafficking police chief, said he was unaware that the dead woman had been attacked before.

“It is absolutely a big mistake if police at the commune post brokered a compromise over the previous attempted rape,” he said.

Kong Sokhorn, provincial penal police chief, said police have already identified a suspect in the killing but declined to release further details.

 

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