Two foreign youths, including a Japanese and South Korean national, were charged yesterday by Phnom Penh Municipal Court over the theft of an iPhone from a City Mall phone shop.
Bun Ly, a police officer in 7 Makara district, identified the two suspects as Modo Kato, 15, Japanese, and his friend Kim Jung Song, 14, South Korean. They were charged with theft and placed under court supervision.
“They were charged by the court with theft but were put under the court’s supervision due to being underage,” he said yesterday. “They will be released [today] after their parents come to take them from the court.”
Mok Borunchhorvoan, police chief of Veal Vong commune, said that according to a police report, on the evening of February 25, the two suspects visited a phone shop in City Mall near Olympic Stadium in 7 Makara district’s Veal Vong district.
He said that after entering the shop, the suspects stood in front of a phone display and checked out the luxury phones.
“They wanted to buy a luxury phone but they didn’t have the money to buy one,” he said. “They stole an iPhone X from the case while the owner of the shop was busy talking with other customers. Then they fled from the shop.”
Mr Borunchhorvoan said the suspects were arrested on Saturday at about 6pm following a complaint by the shop owner.
They were arrested based on their photos, which were taken by the shop’s surveillance camera. Police were unable to seize the stolen phone because the suspects had already sold it, he added.
He said they were being temporarily detained at the 7 Makara district police station until their parents arrived.