Pursat man charged for allegedly raping a pregnant woman

A FIFTY-nine-year-old man was put in pre-trial detention at Pursat provincial prison on Wednesday after he was alleged to have raped a pregnant woman inside a farm hut in Phnom Kravanh district on Monday, the spokesperson for the investigating judge, Heng Donin, said.

Pursat provincial deputy prosecutor and spokesperson Chhay Hong told The Post on Wednesday that the suspect, Hin Da – also known as Heang – was arrested and taken to the provincial prosecutor for questioning on Tuesday.

“The district police brought him to t he prov incia l court yesterday [Tuesday] and the investigating judge charged him with rape just t his [Wednesday] afternoon,” he said.

Three-months pregnant

The Phnom Kravanh district police station’s chief of serious crimes unit, Hun Chan Thea, told The Post that the 39-yearold victim is a widow and has an 11-year-old daughter.

“After [Heang] was arrested, the suspect said he had raped the victim once before. He had asked to sleep with her again, but she rejected,” he said.

The victim lives with another man and is pregnant with his child. On the day of the incident, her partner was in the forest looking for vines, Chan Thea said.

He said that on Monday morning, Heang purchased about two litres of liquor and drank together with the victim in a farm hut.

Unconscious and intoxicated

Not long after wards, t he suspect went about raping the unconscious and intox icated woman, who also happened to be three-months pregnant.

He said the daughters of both the victim and Heang witnessed the incident. The latter then informed her mother.

Upon receiving the news, Heang’s wife rushed to the hut and hit the victim on the forehead and right cheek.

“The v ictim did not want others to know about t he scandal because she was scared of her partner, but t he suspect’s wife hit her too and filed a complaint at the district police station,” Chan Thea said.

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