Four break out of Koh Kong prison #Updated #Caught

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Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Koh Kong provincial police are investigating how four prisoners escaped from the provincial prison yesterday after a guard allowed them to come out of their cells to perform prison-sanctioned activities, police officials said.

“They escaped after they were allowed to come out from their prison cells for exercising and cleaning plants in front of the prison’s courtyard,” said Colonel Lay Meng Laing, provincial penal police unit chief and Koh Kong provincial police deputy chief.

The prisoners, Laing said, escaped around 2pm and ran into the thick forests around a nearby village to hide.

“These four prisoners who escaped were just arrested and jailed last month for operating illegal online games in Koh Kong. They have yet to be tried in court,” he said, adding that police are working to search for and arrest the escapees.

According to Koh Kong prison deputy chief Lieutenant Colonel Seng Leang, the prison break was due to the guards’ inattentiveness.

Leang added that the guards in question will be suspended if police are unable to locate and arrest the prisoners.

“I think that this was caused by the carelessness of our prison guards. To prevent prisoners from escaping or breaking out from prison in the future, we will strengthen our provincial prison guards’ quality of work and build up their capacity.”

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/four-break-out-koh-kong-prison

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Trio of escapees now back in police custody

Mon, 25 May 2015

Khouth Sophak Chakrya

Three of four inmates who escaped from Koh Kong provincial prison on Thursday while outside on a work detail have been re-arrested over the weekend, police said yesterday.

Koh Kong prison chief Try Buntha identified the three recaptured escapees as brothers Poeun Da, 20, Poeun Thou, 23, and Poeun Theara, 25. The fourth brother, Peoun Thoeun, 27, is still at large. All four were being held in pretrial detention on charges of aggravated theft.

“Under collaboration with the provincial police we have taken three of them back to detention in the prison,” Buntha said, adding that police had stopped the three men in a taxi.

“Poeun Da was arrested back on Saturday afternoon in the Tatai area, where he and his two brothers were taking a taxi to leave Koh Kong,” he continued, adding that Thou and Theara had managed to flee the vehicle into the jungle, but were arrested the next day.

Thoeun was not in the taxi, and police are continuing to search for him in the jungle, Buntha said.

Sam Khit Vien, Koh Kong provincial police chief, said that the police are distributing photos of Theoun to villagers so they can notify police if they spot him.

“They were picked up in early April after burglarising villagers’ houses for laptops, mobile phones and wallets,” Vien said, adding that the charges carry a potential sentence of six months to three years, which could double, thanks to the escape attempt.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/trio-escapees-now-back-police-custody