A man was sent to court on Wednesday after being arrested for slitting his father’s throat, causing serious injuries, in Kandal province’s Mok Kampoul district.

District police chief Ek Lon said Him Yany, a 27-year-old Cambodian Muslim, attacked his 70-year-old father with a cleaver while he was asleep.

“He sustained a very deep cut. His throat vessels were cut off almost entirely,” he said.

Citing the victim’s relatives, Lon said the son is a drug addict and had been treated at a drug rehabilitation centre in Phnom Penh from December to February this year.

While confessing to the crime, Yany told police during questioning that he did not realise he was attacking his father. “I am handling this case as attempted murder,” Lon said.

In a separate case in Koh Kong province, a man has been charged with intentional violence with aggravating circumstances after hitting his 53-year-old father with a bamboo stick, causing serious injuries, on Tuesday.

Provincial court spokesman Un Sovantheany said on Thursday that Chen Hay, 23, was charged under Article 218 of the Criminal Code.

“His case has been sent to the investigating judge for further legal procedures,” he said.

Sre Ambel district deputy police chief Keo Borey said Hay lived with his father, Nin Chen, in Sre Ambel district’s Chroy Svay commune.

He said Hay is unemployed and known to be a drunkard. A urine test showed no addictive substance.

“The victim sustained serious injuries and was hospitalised,” he said.

Citing the victim’s relatives, he said Hay attacked his father out of anger after being scolded for drinking too much. He hit Chen with a bamboo stick, injuring his left armpit and backbone.

Borey said the suspect did not flee the scene and was later arrested.

“His family reported the case to the police. He always causes violence in the family,” he said.