Kampong Speu authorities are hunting for a man who killed his drinking partner with a sickle during an argument in Oudong district’s Veal Pong commune on Tuesday.

Provincial police chief Sam Samuon said the authorities were collaborating in the hunt for the 61-year-old suspect after the 45-year-old man was killed.

“An argument broke out while the men were drinking, and one was killed. The suspect remains at large,” Samuon said.

Oudong district police chief Khim Samon told The Post on Wednesday that the suspect hit the victim on the back of the neck with a sickle during a drunken argument before fleeing.

“The suspect ran off without a shirt, and he did not have any money because he is from a poor family. So it is unlikely he fled far,” Samuon said.

The two men had been drinking rice wine when they started arguing. The older man picked up a weapon and struck the victim on the back of the neck, killing him instantly, Samuon cited a witness as telling the police.

A blood-stained sickle was found at the scene of the incident.