Cambodian man shot dead after allegedly killing brother, 3 children

Mon, 10 Jan 2011
DPA

Phnom Penh - A Cambodian man allegedly murdered three children and his brother in the country's remote north-east before police shot and killed him, local media reported Monday.

The incident began early Sunday when Kheng Kry, 32, allegedly stabbed his brother to death at a village in Ratanakkiri province, which borders Laos.

He then fled to a nearby village where he was accused of murdering the three children, ages 3 to 8, and stabbing three other people who tried to prevent the attacks.

District Governor Sak Srun said that after the first murder, police had requested permission to use force against the suspect but the request was refused.

"They tried to arrest the murderer, but they couldn't because it was too dark, which allowed him to run away and kill three more people," Sak Srun told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.

The authorities later gave permission for lethal force.

The motive for the rampage was not known, but a human rights investigator in the province said one theory was that Kheng Kry had suffered an adverse reaction to malaria medication