A Cambodian woman who authorities say was killed by two Chinese nationals last month dropped out of school when she was 15 to help her parents pay off bank debts, her mother told Radio Free Asia.
Police found the heavily bruised and naked body of 18-year-old Heng Seavly in a shallow grave near a lake in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district on March 1.
On Monday, investigators announced the arrests of her boyfriend, 30-year-old Chen Cong, and 34-year-old Li Haohao.
Police said the suspects confessed to the killing, adding that they believed she was about to leak information about a cyberscam operation in Phnom Penh.
Relatives held a funeral for Heng Seavly in her hometown in southern Kampot province on Tuesday.
“When I saw her brought into the temple, my energy and soul flew out of my body,” said her mother, Tim Sophy.
“My daughter was naked when they killed her,” she told RFA. “This is so brutal. As a mother, I am shocked and speechless.”
As the eldest daughter, Heng Seavly left home to work as a goods vendor in Sihanoukville to help her parents support her two younger siblings, Tim Sophy said.
She was later persuaded by her boyfriend to move to Phnom Penh, the mother said.
“She was my fabulous daughter,” she said. “She never missed sending US$250 to $300 each month.”
Police have said the two suspects acted on the orders of another Chinese national, 26-year-old Yang Kaixin, who remains at large.
Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Edited by Matt Reed.
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