Don't mess with Khmer kickboxers!!!

Martial artist Seiha Hak, of Boston, talks with LBPD after he and two other martial artists subdued an alleged robbery suspect, who was taken into custody and transported to hospital after he attempted to rob the VI Mean Chey Jewelry store at 1248 E. Anaheim Street in Long Beach. (Stephen Carr / Staff Photographer)

An alleged robbery suspect is taken into custody and transported to a hospital after he allegedly attempted to rob the VI Mean Chey Jewelry store at 1248 E. Anaheim Street in Long Beach. (Stephen Carr / Staff Photographer)

Jewelry Store owner Chhom Choy is transported to a hospital after an alleged robbery suspect attempted to rob his store VI Mean Chey Jewelry, at 1248 E. Anaheim Street in Long Beach. (Stephen Carr / Staff Photographer)

Martial artists help Long Beach jewelery store owner stop robbery

July 17, 2012
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram

LONG BEACH — A feisty store owner with the help of three martial arts experts foiled an attempted armed robbery Monday at a jewelry store on Anaheim Street.

An unidentified suspect was in police custody and two alleged accomplices who fled the scene were sought after the failed heist at Vi Mean Chey Jewelry in the Cambodia Town section of the city.

According to witnesses, three men attempted to gain access to the store in the 1200 block of Anaheim Street shortly before noon, saying they wanted to buy gold chains.

However, owner Chhom Choy, who has a security system at the store, only allowed one to enter.

Once inside the store, the assailant pulled a gun and vaulted the counter, according to witnesses.

Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting ... to Stop Jewelry Store Robbery

An alleged robbery suspect is taken into custody and transported to a hospital after he allegedly attempted to rob the VI Mean Chey Jewelry store at 1248 E. Anaheim Street in Long Beach. (Stephen Carr / Staff Photographer)

Tue., Jul. 17 2012
By Matt Coker
OC Weekly (Orange County, California)
Long Beach

Their hands were fast as lightning . . .

They would be the three martial artists who helped an agitated owner of a jewelry store foil an attempted armed robbery in Long Beach's Cambodia Town.

Thanks to the Good Samaritaninjas, one of three baddies is in custody.

Just before noon Monday, three men came into Vi Mean Chey Jewelry, 200 E. Willard St., near the 1200 block of Anaheim Street, saying they wanted to buy gold chains. But one man pulled out a gun and hopped over the counter.

Owner Chhom Choy, who is a grandfather, began fighting off the intruder and a shot was fired in the scuffle. The gunman then tried to run out of the back of the shop, but there was no exit.

Congratulations to Kickboxers (Prodal Serey) Mey Sopheap and Lao Sinath!

Cambodian kickboxers Mey Sopheap, left, and Lao Sinath, right, both returned victorious from matches in South Korea.

Cambodian kickboxers triumph in South Korea

Saturday, 07 June 2008
Written by Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

In a major boon to the homegrown, cash-strapped world of Cambodian kickboxing, fighters Mey Sopheap and Lao Sinath recently triumphed over international competition at South Korea’s One Match Winner’s Cup, an amateur tournament held in the city of Nanchu.

Sopheap, 70 kg, outscored his Korean opponent in a three-round bout, while Sinath’s Korean rival conceded midway through a bruising second round in the 60kg weight division.

Oum Yourann, president of the Cambodian Amateur Boxing Federation (CABF), said June 4 that top local boxers hope to participate in more invitational tournaments abroad.

“Cambodian boxers could earn more money, experience and recognition for their country by competing in the international friendship tournaments,” Yourann said.

Sopheap and Sinath’s South Korean victories on May 31 earned them $200 each, rich spoils compared to the 350,000 riels (about $87) they fight for here.

Local paydays are also increasingly rare for Cambodia’s best boxers, as they lack viable competition. Yourann said at least 10 fighters in the CABF stable are waiting for international invitations, having vanquished the field of domestic challengers.

But the usual obstacle remains.

“The CAFB lacks funding to travel to international competitions, therefore we are looking for invitations with sponsors,” Yourann said.

Challenges occur inside the ring too, when fighting abroad. Sopheap and Sinath both suffered penalties for employing knees and elbows in clinches, acceptable blows here at home, which the Koreans deem too rough.

“There were some problems with rule violations when we hugged up during the fights. I used my elbows and knees, which were not allowed,” Sopheap said.

At present, boxers Chey Kosal and Birth Samkhan, 73kg and 65kg, respectively, are in France preparing for a tournament on June 22. If the CAFB’s application to the World Traditional Boxing Federation is approved, Cambodia may host its own international friendship tournament later in 2008.