A mechanic and his apprentice were arrested in Kompong Speu province’s Oral district on Monday over the murder of a young farmer who was in love with the mechanic’s wife, a police official said.
District police chief Buth Bunthoeun said that Phorn Ratha, 24, was stabbed five times with a knife at the home of the couple, where he had gone in an attempt to scare the mechanic, Sen Ly, 35, into withdrawing a complaint he had filed with police over a fistfight between the two men last week.
He said that Mr. Ly and his apprentice, Pan Sarann, 21, teamed up to murder Mr. Ratha.
“The husband hit the victim until he fell down, then [Mr. Sarann] took a knife and stabbed the victim five times and the victim died immediately at [the] scene,” the police chief said.
“The victim loved the wife of the suspect.” Mr. Bunthoeun said the suspects were arrested at about 7 a.m. Monday and immediately confessed to the murder, adding that both the case and the men had been handed over to provincial police.
