Man confesses to killing witness
Murdered teen saw him raping a relative
PHNOM PENH: A Cambodian man was set to appear in court over the murder of a 13-yearold boy, whom the suspect allegedly killed after the boy witnessed him raping a relative, authorities said.
“He wanted to eliminate a potential witness,” said James McCabe, operations director of the Child Protection Unit (CPU), a police division supported by the non-governmental Cambodian Children’s Fund, yesterday.
Hun Tola, 27, allegedly killed the boy, who was his neighbour, on Sunday after the child saw Tola raping the wife of Tola’s relative in their village in the southern province of Takeo, McCabe said.
Tola confessed to police that he raped the woman and killed the boy, McCabe said.
The rape occurred in the suspect’s house and the child was “in a position to watch him do it”, he added.
The woman, likely in shock, didn’t immediately report it to police, he said.
After being discovered, Tola allegedly lured the boy to a nearby pond, where he slit the child’s throat with a 30cm blade, threw him in the pond and covered his body with fishing nets, McCabe said.
A volunteer forensic pathologist visiting from Australia determined that the cause of death was drowning.
The woman who was raped had seen Tola and the boy walking together to the pond, about 300m from her house.
Later, she found the boy’s shoes at the water’s edge.
Then, she called for help, McCabe said. Tola was arrested on Sunday evening and detained at the Takeo provincial police headquarters.
He is expected to be charged with premeditated murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.