Police are continuing to search for those responsible for the murder of a young woman who was found buried in a shallow grave by villagers in Preah Sihanouk province’s Prey Nop district. The woman’s hands were handcuffed, and a restraint was tied around on knee.

District police chief Ong Vuthy told The Post on January 24 that the body was found by the villagers on the evening of January 21 at O’Oknha Heng commune’s O’Ta Sek village on National Road 4.

He said that the following morning, police and medical experts went to examine the location and excavated the corpse. The autopsy found scars that indicated she was murdered.

“According to the autopsy results, the body was decomposed. She was handcuffed and had a broken right forearm, calf and right thigh. There was bruising on the right chest, under the armpit, on the head, her left ear was swollen and there were puncture wounds below her navel. This shows that the woman was beaten and stabbed to death,” he said.

According to the forensic team’s report, the woman was 1.55m tall, aged between 15-18 years old, had blonde hair and tattoos on her body. The word “sexy” was tattooed in English on her right shoulder, while a butterfly was tattooed on her left. No identification was found on her body.

The report said the victim was wearing pink shorts and a silver necklace, and had a silver ring on her left middle finger. Her body was being kept at Preah Sihanouk provincial Referral Hospital, awaiting relatives to come forward and claim it for funeral rites.

According to Vuthy, the authorities have yet to identify the woman, and have not yet heard from any family members.

“However, officers continue to actively investigate the case, and are maintaining the highest level of professionalism. I am confident that the perpetrators will be brought to justice and be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.