Around midnight, a terrifying ordeal unfolded on the fifth floor of the Star Bay apartment complex in Sihanoukville. A woman who had accepted what she thought was a routine dinner invitation walked through the door and straight into a trap.
Waiting inside were several Chinese men who immediately overpowered her. The assault was brutal: they tied her up, blindfolded her, and stuffed a gag in her mouth before kicking and beating her repeatedly. In an added act of cruelty, they chopped off her hair before robbing her of roughly $6,000.
Local police have launched a full investigation and are working to identify the suspects, determine how many men were involved, and establish the exact motive behind the crime.
Downstairs in the dead of night, the street looked like business as usual—the air thick with exhaust from passing tuktuks and motorbikes, street stalls still firing up meat skewers on the curb. But just a few floors up, a dark crime was taking place. At a time when everyone is trying to scratch out a living, some are still cruel enough to turn on their own. It is a grim wake-up call for anyone in Sihanoukville: these days, even if someone just calls you over for a bite to eat, you need to think twice before opening that door.
