After an argument at a karaoke parlor, a drunken bus conductor threw a grenade into a nearby coffee shop Wednesday night in Phnom Penh, killing a woman and injuring a bystander, police said.
Hin Bor, 21, had been drinking at a Monivong Boulevard nightclub with Ham Savet, 34, a former military policeman, when the men argued with a group of youths, said Chhay Thirith, Sras Chak commune police chief.
When the youths taunted the two Banteay Meanchey province residents for dressing like country bumpkins and drinking traditional rice wine, the two men followed them into the street, seeking revenge, Chhay Thirith said. Moments later, Hin Bor spotted one member of the group, Sao Sambor, 23, at the coffee shop and lobbed a grenade inside, Chhay Thirith said.
Chhoeu Sokha, 26, owner of the coffee shop at Monivong and Street 86, died at Calmette Hospital shortly after midnight, police said. Sao Sambor lost three fingers on his right hand.
Police arrested Hin Bor and Ham Savet and confiscated a handgun and a second grenade from the former military policeman, said Pol Davy, a spokesman for Municipal Military Police. Ma Sok Heng, the ringleader of the youths, also was arrested.
