Six Arrested for Killing Indigenous People over Witchcraft Accusations
Six suspects have been arrested in connection with a premeditated murder in Mondulkiri Province’s Pechreada District. Photo: National Police
- By Lay Sopheavotey
- and Teng Yalirozy
- February 7, 2022 2:35 PM
A brutal series of murders took place in Mondulkiri Province leaving five dead, including two 15-year-old boys and a five-year-old boy, after accusations of witchcraft were made against the indigenous community
PHNOM PENH--Six suspects have been arrested in connection with a premeditated murder in Mondulkiri Province’s Pechreada District where five people were killed and one boy was seriously injured after the perpetrators accused the victims of engaging in witchcraft.
So Sovann, deputy police chief of Mondulkiri Province, said that authorities had arrested six suspects who confessed to killing the family out of resentment.
The arrests were made on Feb. 5, with the six suspects comprised of members from two different families who Sovann said committed the murders on Feb. 1 after they suspected the victims of conducting witchcraft.
“The perpetrators’ family had suffered a bereavement and thought that the victims’ family had cursed the dead using witchcraft, so they became angry which led to the killing of the victims’ family,” Sovann said.
A 12-year-old boy was seriously injured and has been taken to the National Pediatric Hospital in Phnom Penh.
The victims of this brutal murder were from the Pnong indigenous group, according to the Mondulkiri Provincial Department of Information, which reported that a 45-year-old male, a 41-year-old woman, two 15-year-old boys and a five-year-old boy were killed.
“Mondulkiri Police Command and CPU will continue to support the child and surviving family member,” said James McCabe, director the Child Protection Unit in Cambodia.
A joint taskforce consisting of provincial police, the Interior Ministry’s Scientific Department, the Office of Major Crime and the Child Protection Unit’s Homicide and Forensic Team has been established to investigate the murders.
“The crime scene is extremely difficult to access. This is a heinous crime committed against a family and a small community,” said McCabe, who noted that the remote mountains of Mondulkiri Province posed a challenge to investigators.
“This has been an exhaustive investigation involving multiple agencies… I want to praise the efforts of all involved,” McCabe added.
