Sunday, January 09, 2011

Australian shot dead at guesthouse

Sunday, 09 January 2011
Thet Sambath
The Phnom Penh Post

An Australian man was shot and killed by two unknown assailants at a guesthouse in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district on Saturday night, police officials said.

A district police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Sunday that the victim was 44-year-old Australian Eric Liu, who arrived in Cambodia on Saturday.

He added that the victim was welcomed by his girlfriend and her relatives at the airport and was then taken to Reaksmey Thansuo guesthouse in Stung Meanchey commune.

The officer said the victim was gunned down in the guesthouse’s reception area at around 9.30pm.


Liu was shot twice, in the chest and right hand, by two unknown men on a motorbike and later died at Calmette hospital, where his body is being kept under instructions from Australian consular officials.

“He had no disputes with anyone in Cambodia and his girlfriend claims she has no husband, but that she was loved by a Chinese man who works at a shoe factory in Kandal province,” the officer said. “We are investigating this case because we suspect it resulted from a dispute over the girl.”

Phnom Penh municipal police chief Touch Naruth agreed that the killing was likely the result of “vindictiveness”, since the Australian man was “coming to Cambodia to meet his Cambodian girlfriend”, but declined to comment further.

Chuon Narin, chief of the municipal police department’s serious crime bureau, added Sunday that police were hunting for the suspects and gathering evidence in the case.

Chhouy Meng, head of the emergency care unit at Calmette Hospital, said he was not aware of Liu’s case and that his name did not appear on the hospital’s patient registry.

Australian embassy officials could not be reached for comment Sunday, but Radio Australia reported yesterday that consular officials from the Australian Embassy were working closely with local authorities on the case.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

his last name sounded like a chinese-australian, anyway... sad that anybody have to die by violence, etc, anywhere in the world, not just in cambodia.

dy thuong said...

Courting and engaging in love with woman in Cambodia mean taking high risk of death if precaution is not concerned. A lot or story have been said and it sounds more true than not. Last month a man from Stockton died mysteriously on the wedding day in Cambodia. Many Khmer from US died mysteriously in Cambodia in woman-related situation.

Anonymous said...

Will I be safe to court an ugly girl?
Or will she turns into a yeak and eat me?

Anonymous said...

4:11 AM,

Well, be careful! Even an ugly girl may have got a former lover!

Cambodian girls are not old-fashioned anymore and they do date at least secretely so take it easy and watch your step!

Anonymous said...

An Australian with a last name "Liu"? Obviously the victim is not of the ruling caucasian stock.

Anonymous said...

The Cambodian police will not find anything from their "investigation". Why? Because there's usually no investigation done. They will only investigate cases where it involves their own families or that families of high ranking government officials. Other than that, forget it.

Anonymous said...

Extreme jealousy is a sign of non-intelligence.
That's Khmers for you.

Anonymous said...

If a Khmer woman willing to wash my feet and kiss them maybe I'm safe to proceed?

Anonymous said...

7:16AM - proceed at her risks until you've coughed up the dough; proceed at your own risk after that.