Police in Stung Treng province’s Sesan district are on the hunt for three armed robbers wanted in connection with a Wednesday home invasion and robbery that left one man severely injured.

Chan Bunsuoy, Sesan district deputy police chief, said yesterday that the robbery – in which the suspects netted some 1 million riel (about $250) – took place at a farmhouse belonging to 25-year-old victim Leang Soklen in Sesan’s Kamphun commune at about 7:15pm on Wednesday evening.

According to Bunsuoy, Soklen was shot in the back by one of the suspects with an AK-47, with the bullet passing cleanly through his body. Soklen was sent to a hospital in Vietnam for treatment.

“According to the explanation from the victim, there were three robbers and all were armed. They also wore masks,” Bunsuoy said. “The victim was shot from behind, and they took all the wealth and ran into the rubber plantation.”

Horm Bunthel, Stung Treng deputy provincial police chief, said that authorities had found a bullet casing at the scene of the crime, and were now investigating in hopes of identifying and tracking down the perpetrators.

Wednesday’s robbery is just the latest in a nationwide rash of violent crime that has seen high-ranking officials publicly called out for their apparent inability to curb the incidents.