Court investigates rape, murder of a 4-year-old

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court said on Sunday that it is continuing investigations into the death of a four-yearold whose body was found in a container in Chraing Chamreh II commune in the capital’s Russey Keo district last Tuesday.

She was believed to have been raped.

District police officers who asked not to be named, said the suspect, Nguyen Yangyi, who is also known as A Domlong, 33, was charged on Saturday under Article 205 of the Criminal Code, which deals with murder preceded or followed by torture, cruelty or rape.

“If the court finds the accused guilty under the charge, he could face life imprisonment,” he said.

When reached for com- ment, Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesman, Ly Sophana, declined comment, saying it was his day off while another spokesman, Suos Vithea Randy, said he was not familiar with the case.

Police said before the alleged rape-murder on May 29, the victim, a Vietnamese-Cambodian, was seen by neighbours playing near her home with the suspect. When her mother couldn’t find her later, she went to the police.

Upon conducting a search, police and family members found the girl’s naked body in a container near the family home.

The accused, who was arrested the same night, confessed to the crime according to Tieng Chansa, the Russey Keo district police chief.