Police have identified a suspect in the armed robbery and shooting of an American man but have made no arrests, while suspects in an almost identical case involving a Japanese woman have yet to be identified, an official said yesterday.

“We do have a suspect in this case, and we’re working hard with the municipal police department to find the suspects,” said Mom Sittha, chief of Phnom Penh’s Foreigner Police Office.

On Friday, Maurice Law, 57, and his wife, Debbie, were mugged in Chamkarmon district’s Tonle Bassac commune as they returned home from dinner at about 7pm. After handing over Debbie’s purse, the robbers shot Maurice before driving away.

The bullet passed through his upper groin and pierced his thigh.

Sittha said the case was being investigated by the police and that the US embassy had been made aware.

Spokesman John Simmons declined to comment on the case, but urged a thorough investigation.

“The US embassy is very troubled by the recent incidents of violent crime against American citizens and other foreign nationals in Phnom Penh. We call on the authorities to conduct prompt and thorough investigations necessary to bring the culprits to justice and to deter further crime,” Simmons said via email yesterday.

Standing in a grey corridor in Calmette Hospital, Debbie said her husband was on the mend.

“We’re not pursuing further police action; they already have the information taken from the [crime] scene,” she said, as her husband propped himself up on his elbows and smiled.

A day after Law was shot, Sakiko Takaya Naci, 33, was shot in the leg at about 8pm during a robbery that took place near the highly populated Night Market in Daun Penh’s Wat Phnom commune.

Sittha said that no suspects have been identified in Naci’s case, but emphasised that it was ongoing.