Daily News & Analysis (India)
PHNOM PENH: The supposed family of a woman who emerged from Cambodia's jungle after apparently living wild for nearly 19 years said on Saturday they will not take a DNA test as they are certain she is their child.
Sal Lou, a village police officer and member of the Pnong ethnic minority, claimed last week that the mysterious woman was his daughter Rochom P'ngieng, now 27, who went missing while guarding a water buffalo in 1988.
"I think there is no need because her appearance shows that she is the one," Sal Lou said.
"I am confident that she is really my daughter without taking DNA tests," he added.
Rochom P'ngieng, if it is indeed her, was spotted January 10 by a farmer as she emerged naked from the jungle to steal his food.
Sal Lou went on a mission to find the woman, and tracked her down and took her home a week ago.
The woman's would-be family on Saturday said they were worried about Rochom P'ngieng, who seemed to be missing the jungle, but vowed not to let her escape.
"It's lucky to get her back and my family is so excited. But sometimes I feel nervous to see my sister as she looks so sad and seems to miss her jungle home," said Rochom Ly, 22, who claims to be the woman's younger brother.
Sal Lou said that although the woman he believes is his daughter may have some difficulties living among unfamiliar people, she would have to get used to it.
"She talks a lot but we don't understand. When she sees a lot of people around her, she looks so horrified, but she stays calm as long as I am with her," he said.
Rochom P'ngieng disappeared one day in 1988 in the jungles of northeastern Ratanakkiri province about 610 kilometers (380 miles) from Phnom Penh.
If it is her, no one knows what happened to the woman over the intervening two decades. A photograph released on Friday showed a normal-looking young woman with shoulder-length hair and trimmed fingernails.
A thick scar on her wrist indicates she may have been held captive at some point, her father said. He denied local media reports that the girl was in fact from Vietnam.
Sal Lou, a village police officer and member of the Pnong ethnic minority, claimed last week that the mysterious woman was his daughter Rochom P'ngieng, now 27, who went missing while guarding a water buffalo in 1988.
"I think there is no need because her appearance shows that she is the one," Sal Lou said.
"I am confident that she is really my daughter without taking DNA tests," he added.
Rochom P'ngieng, if it is indeed her, was spotted January 10 by a farmer as she emerged naked from the jungle to steal his food.
Sal Lou went on a mission to find the woman, and tracked her down and took her home a week ago.
The woman's would-be family on Saturday said they were worried about Rochom P'ngieng, who seemed to be missing the jungle, but vowed not to let her escape.
"It's lucky to get her back and my family is so excited. But sometimes I feel nervous to see my sister as she looks so sad and seems to miss her jungle home," said Rochom Ly, 22, who claims to be the woman's younger brother.
Sal Lou said that although the woman he believes is his daughter may have some difficulties living among unfamiliar people, she would have to get used to it.
"She talks a lot but we don't understand. When she sees a lot of people around her, she looks so horrified, but she stays calm as long as I am with her," he said.
Rochom P'ngieng disappeared one day in 1988 in the jungles of northeastern Ratanakkiri province about 610 kilometers (380 miles) from Phnom Penh.
If it is her, no one knows what happened to the woman over the intervening two decades. A photograph released on Friday showed a normal-looking young woman with shoulder-length hair and trimmed fingernails.
A thick scar on her wrist indicates she may have been held captive at some point, her father said. He denied local media reports that the girl was in fact from Vietnam.
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