Three teenagers have been arrested after the body of a murdered 14-year-old girl was discovered at a Phnom Penh primary school. Municipal police
Staff at Phnom Penh’s Wat Kruos Primary School made a shocking discovery yesterday morning, May 21, when they found a deceased young woman on school grounds.
The authorities have taken three teenagers, aged 18, 16 and 15, into custody on suspicion of rape and murder.
Teachers were preparing for the start of the school day when they discovered the body, in a campus bathroom. They immediately notified the police.
The Child Protection Unit (CPU) and local officers conducted a thorough examination of the scene and then carried out a post-mortem investigation and determined that the victim, a 14-year-old girl, had been raped and then strangled to death.
“Investigators were able to determine the manner of death and built a picture of what had occurred to the victim during the assault,” said the CPU.
“Investigators took multiple witness statements and were able to identify two suspects, who were located and taken into custody shortly after,” it added.
The suspects were interrogated and confessed to the crime, as well as the involvement of a third suspect.
The Child Protection Unit (CPU) conducted a thorough inspection of the crime scene. CPU
Statements from the suspects corroborated the evidence found on the deceased and at the scene.
After several hours, the third suspect was located and arrested by police.
Sam Vicheka, Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesman, provided details of the case.
He said Sok Chansovanseng, 18, unemployed, was known to the victim, his neighbour, in Duong village, of Prek Pno commune and district.
“The suspect and his two companions arranged to meet the victim. They put a sleeping pill in her drink, then raped and killed her in a bathroom at the school. Then they left the scene with her belongings, including a necklace,” Vicheka explained, in an audio recording.
The other two suspects, aged 15 and 16, have been arrested for conspiracy to murder.
The police are preparing a case for submission to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.
The CPU is a specialised division established through a partnership between the Cambodian National Police and the Cambodian Children’s Fund.
Since its formation in 2013, the CPU has worked alongside law enforcement to investigate serious crimes against children, including rape and murder, by providing expert forensic support, rapid response teams and victim assistance.
