Police launch hunt as burning corpse found

A BURNING corpse was discovered on Saturday night in Bak Kheng commune’s Bak Kheng v illage in t he capita l’s Chroy Chang var district, wit h police launching a search for t he perpetrator.

Bak Kheng commune chief Kong Bunly said on Sunday that a group of workers at a sand dredging company saw a fire at around 9pm on Saturday night.

Thinking t hat someone was burning company propert y, he said, they went to investigate. The workers said they saw a Lexus R X330 leaving the scene and then discovered the corpse engulfed in flames. They immediately reported the find to t heir employer and loca l police, Bunly said.

He said police quick ly v isited the scene, found the body still on fire and attempted to extinguish the flames.

However, it was burned, “beyond recognition” from the head to the k nees, Bunly said. Police were unable to make an identification – or even to ascertain t he v ictim’s gender.

Remnants of a blue towel were found with the remains, he said, and there was some diesel next to t he body.

This led police to conclude t hat the v ictim had been wrapped in a towel before being doused with diesel and set on fire, Bunly said.

He continued that since the v ictim had a slender frame and a bra was found at the scene, t he ev idence suggests that the body was that of a female.

Bak Kheng commune police chief Meas Thorn said on Sunday that the authorities are look ing for t he v ictim’s relatives by appealing to loca ls to a lert t hem if any family member is missing.

However, he said he was not certain whether t he v ictim was male or female.

“The body was almost completely burned, so it is hard for us to make a conclusion, but it is 90 per cent believed that the v ictim was female because a bra was found at t he scene,” Thorn said.

He said police believe t hat the body was brought from elsewhere to be burned in a quiet location at night.

Chroy Chong var dist r ict police chief Siem Sothav uth said police are st i l l investigating the case and attempting to find the suspect and identif y t he v ictim.

“I cannot conclude for certain whether the v ictim was male or female. Our police are still working on it,” he said.

The remains of the body were sent to Mean Chey dist r ict, waiting for relat ives to collect it follow ing identification.