Kampong Cham provincial police are searching for two convicts who escaped from a hospital last week and are suspected of killing a five-year-old girl in a botched ransom scheme on Sunday.
Vaing Binh, 31, who was imprisoned for attempted murder in 2006, and Yin Noeurn, 21, who was serving a 10-sentence for robbery and murder, both fled a Kampong Cham hospital together on Sept. 1.
Both men are from Punhea Krek district, police said, and police suspect they fled to the home village of Yin Noeurn, Trapaing Phhlong.
There, they are suspected of abducting a five-year-old girl and attempting to extort $20,000 from the family to fund their continued escape, police said. When the family was not able to pay, the two men allegedly killed the girl, Hoeurn Chivmeng.
Police have been looking for the men since the killing, after the parents of the victim complained, Keo Daraphy, deputy police chief of Punhea Krek, said Wednesday.
However, search efforts have been hampered by the thick jungle and numerous canals of the area, he said.
Seng Sokim, deputy chief of Kampong Cham provincial police, said the family of the victims recognized the men, and their descriptions matched those of the escapees.