Three men have been charged in last week’s brutal beating of a university professor who had fled the scene of a traffic accident before being chased down by an angry mob.

On March 11, a group of men descended on a car driven by Suy Sareth, an English professor at the University of Cambodia, after he allegedly collided with a moto driver.

The mob proceeded to throw rocks at Sareth and landed repeated punches on the helpless professor. After the incident, he was sent to Vietnam for treatment.

The three detainees are Yath Tithya, 21, and An Vinty, 21 – who were arrested last Wednesday in Tuol Kork – and An Phally, a 31-year-old tuk-tuk driver arrested in Kampong Thom a day later.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesman Y Rin confirmed on Sunday the three had been provisionally charged with intentional violence and causing intentional damage.

A video emerged on social media on Sunday of Phally and Vinty speaking to the media before being taken to court. Phally confessed to throwing rocks, claiming he was unsure if he had hit Sareth. Vinty, meanwhile, said he used his motorcycle helmet to hit the car after almost being hit by the professor.

Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Chhoun Sovann told local media authorities were on the lookout for eight additional suspects – one of whom is Pheach Kimhak, allegedly a former member of the notorious Daun Penh security guards, who appeared in a video of the incident to be wearing clothing similar to the uniforms worn by the unit’s guards.