Ancient Artifact Linked To Kampong Chnnang Fire Murder Case

Kampong Chhnang: The case of a man who set fire to his house and killed his wife and children, including his unborn baby, in Baribo District a few days ago, reportedly started from a marital dispute over a husband trying to sell antiquities, but his wife refused.

According to a source from a police officer who asked not to be named, the artifact was taken by the provincial police from the ashes of a house set on fire in Doeum Chre village, Khon Rang commune, Baribo district, on the night of May 9, 2021. It was handed over to the Provincial Department of Culture for management.

According to the investigation of this crime, Non Sareth took a woman named Ian Sok, a widow with three children, as his wife. They worked hard and together had 2-year-old son who also died in the incident. One day, while digging the ground to build a house, he found the artifact (* a copper and iron bracelet (?) weighing 1.6 kg in the post-Angkorian style)  and took it to save. Later, the husband worked as a fortune teller and treated a series of diseases for a long time.

Credible sources said that the story then learned that someone wanted to buy the “idol” above, and the husband also wanted to sell to pay off microfinance debt of more than 20,000 dollars, which he had to pay more than 2 million riels a month ($500), but his wife refused, and had a heated argument until the husband became angry, leading to the murders.

Mr. SAM, Councilor of Khon Rang Commune, Boribo District, said that on the night of the incident, May 9, after the fire calmed down, he ordered the guards to take Non Sareth to the health center because he was in shocked. Suddenly, on the morning of May 10, he saw Non Sareth return home to the scene and was not interested in the deceased, but tried to find the artifact, the “deity’s leg”.

Later, Non Sareth took the artifact from the center of the house in a pile of metal and sat down outside. He (Mr Sam) saw this and as the technical police force came to do the autopsies, saw Non Sareth put the artifact in front of the house.

Kampong Chhnang province handed the artifact over to the Department of Culture and Fine Arts of Kampong Chhnang province on the morning of May 13, 2021. NKD

*CNE did not independently write this article, it was a translation from the given source. For any queries- please contact [email protected]