According to the report, on the night of April 4, 2026, residents surrounded a police vehicle and blocked a section of National Road 3, trying to remove a car-theft suspect from police custody. The report says tyres were punctured and the police vehicle was smashed and damaged, after which officers fired several shots into the air to disperse the crowd.
The incident followed a joint investigation by Prey Veng and Kampong Speu police into a vehicle stolen in Peam Ro district. Police arrested a suspect on April 4 in Angk Rounge village, Maha Ruessei commune, Kong Pisei district, Kampong Speu. Residents subsequently protested and surrounded the police vehicle carrying the suspect, seeking to take the suspect out of police custody.
The report cites an alleged receiver of stolen property as saying that he bought a Hyundai vehicle for US$1,600 and resold it for US$2,300. He reportedly said that he regularly bought vehicles without proper documents from people who stole them elsewhere, then dismantled them and sold the parts. The report recalls that a Hyundai bearing Phnom Penh plate 3D-0908 was stolen in the early hours of March 25 in Ponley village, Prey Kandieng commune, Peam Ro district, Prey Veng. After receiving the owner’s report and complaint, provincial criminal police, under provincial police chief Major General Chhoeun Bunchhorn, worked with Kampong Speu criminal police, with procedural coordination by prosecutors attached to the two provincial courts of first instance. The investigation led to the arrest in Kong Pisei on April 4.
Writer: Nget Pisant.
