Oddar Meanchey provincial police sent a traditional village healer to the provincial court on Monday after a woman died in his care on Saturday.
Loek Sokha, the deputy provincial police chief in charge of the case, identified the victim as Chhouk Mao, 24, and said the suspect was a 61-year-old.
He said both lived in Konkriel commune’s Chreung Khang Lech village in Samrong town.
“I wrote in the police record that it was a case of involuntary manslaughter,” said Sokha.
On Monday, Samrong town police chief Hem Phearum said Mao’s relatives told him that her parents called the suspect at around 1pm on Saturday after Mao began to exhibit signs of severe postpartum depression.
Upon arrival, he hooked her up to a serum drip, which ran out at around 4pm, said Phearum.
At 6pm, he said, the suspect administered three different pills at the same time. At 7:45pm, Mao suddenly convulsed and died.
Phearum said the victim’s relatives filed a report at Konkriel commune police station and it reported the case to the provincial department of health which sent medical officials and police to the scene.
The officials initially found that the suspect did not have the proper permits for running his business, Phearum said.
He added that interrogation and further investigation by police revealed that the suspect did not have a medical licence from either the Ministry of Health or its provincial department.
