A 24-year-old man was arrested yesterday over the alleged rape of his 6-year-old neighbour in Preah Sihanouk province on Monday, according to military police spokesman Eng Ly.

According to police, the victim was alone in her home in Village 4 of Sihanoukville’s Commune 4 when suspect Prom Keav allegedly entered the house and forced himself on her.

“We have already sent the victim back to her parents’ house, and we will send [the suspect] to the provincial court” either on Wednesday or Thursday, Ly said yesterday.

In a separate case in Preah Sihanouk province, the National Police’s Child Protection Unit is on the lookout for a “Westerner” who allegedly briefly abducted a 9-year-old girl on Tuesday.

According to CPU chief James McCabe, the girl was walking home from school in Prey Nop district when an English-speaking foreigner pulled up in a white car, asked to see her books, then dragged her into the vehicle.

“We haven’t had a Westerner involved in a kidnapping yet,” said McCabe.

Sreyka was found, alive, on the street at about 6:45pm the same day. The CPU declined to release details of the investigators’ interview of the victim or her condition, though McCabe did say that medical tests were being conducted.

Local police officials in Sihanoukville on Tuesday had brushed off the incident, though McCabe yesterday called the case “a real concern”.

Additional reporting by Igor Kossov