A woman who smuggled two metal saws into Prey Veng Provincial Prison on Wednesday to help her inmate boyfriend break out is now being held in the jail herself after being charged over the failed escape plot, officials said Thursday.
Prison director Choub Sarim said Chhoeun Nith, 29, entered Prey Veng prison at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday to visit her boyfriend Phou Kob, also in his late 20s, who was convicted of premeditated murder in 2009 and is serving a 20-year sentence.
“We always check the belongings of the prisoners’ relatives when they visit. Yesterday we found two metal saws, about 20 cm long,” Mr. Sarim said, adding that the saws were found in a bottle of Goat Milk-branded body wash.
Provincial police chief Sreng Chea said officers concluded it was an escape attempt.
“She brought the metal saws to her boyfriend in order to cut the iron [bars] of the prison to escape,” he said.
“She was charged this morning by Prey Veng Provincial Court with procuring means of escape, which is under Article 565 of the criminal code.”
