Preah Sihanouk provincial police have arrested a 25-year-old fisherman in connection with the murder of his two colleagues during a drinking session at sea.

Preah Sihanouk provincial police chief Chuon Narin said the suspect killed his two fellow fishermen and then threw their bodies overboard in the province.

The suspect then fled to Sithor Kandal district, in Prey Veng province, where he was arrested by provincial police and handed over to colleagues in Preah Sihanouk.

Upon questioning, the suspect confessed that before the killings, the three – consisting of him and another worker, and the boat’s pilot – were drinking alcohol and smoking drugs.

But an argument broke out and led to the suspect striking the pilot twice on the head with a hammer, fracturing his skull. The other worker was then stabbed to death and both were then thrown overboard.

“After the incident, the suspect piloted the boat to a dock and fled to his hometown in the district,” he said.

Chuon Narin said the bodies of the victims were spotted on March 3, floating near the island of Koh Rong.

Autopsies of the bodies and further police investigation led to the arrest of the suspect. Ouk Phat, the Prey Veng provincial police crime office director, said on Sunday that the arrest was made in collaboration with Preah Sihanouk police.

He said it took three to four days to search for the suspect, who was eventually arrested on March 7.

Immediately after his arrest, Narin said, the police informed Preah Sihanouk provincial police who picked up the suspect the same day.

Kol Phally, Preah Sihanouk provincial deputy police chief, said police plan to send the suspect to court on Tuesday.

Police did not provide the names of the victims, but Nokorwat News Daily reported them as Bun Bora, 38, from Prey Veng and Hem Poeun, 26, from Kampot province’s Teuk Chhou district.