Crook GOT A CHARGE OUT OF STEALING

A 45-year-old man in Kandal province has been arrested and accused of stealing electricity from the state and re-selling it to 54 families in Ang Snuol district. Officials say the man stole electricity by reconfiguring wires at a power station using what they are calling a highly sophisticated technique. The man then allegedly sold the electricity to local families at a rate of 1,700 riels per kilowatt-hour (USD$0.41) – plus an $85 fee. The man is due in court soon.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

Man a victim of brotherly loathing

A man allegedly hacked his brother-in-law to death with a hoe, Preah Sihanouk province police said. The killing happened Wednesday in Prey Nup district, when the suspect arrived home in a drunken haze, shouting loudly and causing a ruckus, police said, and when the victim tried to quiet him down, the man grew angry and attacked the victim with the hoe. The victim’s wife said the trio lived together in the same home, but that the two men had a rocky relationship. Police have detained the suspect and are to send him to court soon.

DEUM AMPIL

Moto marauders make off with money

A pair of motorcycle bandits robbed a Tuol Kork district home at gunpoint Wednesday, zipping away with US$90,000 in cash and jewellery. Police said two men arrived on a motorbike, then stormed into the house through an unlocked door. The suspects spent only three minutes ransacking the home before escaping. The family said they cooperated with the robbers because they were scared.

DEUM AMPIL

Domestic worker says she was raped

Police have arrested a man suspected of raping a 13-year-old domestic worker in Phnom Penh’s Veal Vong commune. The victim’s mother said she sent her daughter to work in the man’s home because she was poor. But when visiting her daughter at work one day, the girl told her she had been raped at least twice, and that the suspect had allegedly threatened to kill her if she told anyone. The suspect was arrested Wednesday after the mother filed a complaint with local police.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

Builder dies after falling off building

A 27-year-old construction worker died instantly after accidently falling from a nine-storey building under construction in Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmon district. A witness said the victim fell after touching faulty electrical wires. Colleagues had rushed him to the hospital but doctors were unable to save him because he suffered serious damage to the head. The victim’s family and his employer are going to negotiate an appropriate compensation.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY