Man detained for shooting "fisherman" on the Mekong.
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2016 12:16 am
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/29142/ ... fisherman/A fishing community officer was arrested and charged yesterday by the provincial court for shooting and injuring a fisherman in the Mekong River in Kratie province’s Sambo district last week, according to district police...
Keo Chea, an O-Kreang commune police officer, said that on Friday morning at about 11am, two men armed with AK-47 assault rifles drove a boat in pursuit of a group of three fishermen in the Tralork Canyon area of the Mekong River near Ponchea village.
“After they drove the motorboat close to the group of fishermen, one of the suspects took his AK-47 and fired about 10 bullets at them, causing one fisherman to get seriously wounded on the boat,” he told Khmer Times.
“After the shooting, they [the suspects] drove the motorboat and managed to flee from the scene.”
He said the suspects were later identified by police after the victims recognized their boat which had been left in the village, enabling police to arrest Mr. Than at his house on Sunday afternoon.
After questioning at the police station, Mr. Than denied shooting the victim, placing the blame on his son-in-law who escaped, the police officer added.
“He said the reason they shot the victims was because they [the victims] were fishing in a protected area in the province.” Police were still seeking the arrest of the suspect who escaped, he added.
Is the victim a fisherman or a poacher ?
What a strange story : The fishing officers pursued the illegal fisherman in their motorboat, gave them a blast with an AK, and then fled the scene to return home to their village where they were promptly arrested by police.
However,I thought the fishing officers are supposed to protect wildlife such as the dolphins and the turtles, and since those fishermen were fishing in a protected area, shouldn't they be the ones that got arrested ? Or was the Ak-47 a bit much ?