Kompong Thom Provincial Court yesterday charged a 19-year-old woman with intentional killing for allegedly drowning a 6-year-old girl after robbing her of her gold earrings.
Rok Rorn was arrested Monday for allegedly killing Poul Sokneng and stealing earrings containing 1.125 grams of gold in Kompong Svay district’s Trapaing Russei commune on Sunday, said district deputy police chief Ke Kanchana.
“When it was quiet and a good moment, the suspect lured the victim to take her earrings and then she pushed her head into the river, where she died,” Mr Kanchana said.
During questioning on Monday, Rok Rorn confessed to killing the victim and showed police yesterday where she had hidden the dead girl’s body–a rice field a kilometer from the scene of the crime.
“She took the victim’s body and dumped it at the rice field because she wanted to hide the evidence,” Mr Kanchana said, adding that the suspect showed no remorse during her alleged confession.
“Her face is not sad, and she doesn’t feel sorry for the victim girl,” he said.
Provincial chief deputy prosecutor Soeun Monirath said that the court charged Rok Rorn with intentional killing and placed her in provisional detention at the provincial prison.
Trapaing Russei commune chief Ouch Vannary called the killing “brutal” and said he had warned parents not to allow young children to wear jewelry.
“We always inform the parents not to let their children wear jewelry to protect their security,” he said. “Young children suffer easier.”
Am Sam Ath, senior monitor for local rights group Licadho, said the suspect was “inhuman” but noted that such crimes were not uncommon.
“These crimes happen to young children aged three to five every year,” he said, adding that parents needed to be more attentive to the whereabouts of their children.
“The parents should think again if they love their children,” he said. “They should not allow their young children to walk alone when they wear jewelry. They are a vulnerable group.”
