A Pursat man accused of sorcery was shot to death on Monday night by a masked assailant, who remains at large. Srey Chumnit, police chief of Anlong Vil commune, said the victim, Chhem Yin, 34, was shot several times as he and his wife sat watching television in their Kandieng district home.

Yin died at the scene. “According to examination of the body, the shooter shot him five times,” Chumnit said. He said authorities believed the murder was motivated by “spite” as in the past the victim had been accused of being a “wizard”.

Speaking by phone from the funeral, the victim’s wife, But Sarun, 36, said a man wearing a mask walked into their home and fired multiple rounds at her husband before disappearing. Kandieng district police chief Liv Senghim said three villagers had been interrogated and released.