The Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia has asked Cambodian authorities to investigate the recent fatal shooting of a Vietnamese man in Phnom Penh and to search for the perpetrator, Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.  

Following the embassy’s report on the fatal incident on Saturday, the ministry has urgently directed the agency to fully identify the victim, deploy citizen protection measures, and request Cambodian authorities to investigate the case and search for the suspect killer.

The victim was identified as Minh Hung Khuou, 35, a Vietnamese national, who was shot at 1:25 pm that day in Tuol Svay Prey I Commune of Boeng Keng Kang District, the Khmer Times reported on Monday, citing Captain Choun Bros, deputy police chief of the commune.

The man was residing in Cambodia before the shooting happened, the captain said, adding that his body had been brought to Stung Meanchey Pagoda, waiting for his relatives to receive it.

Local police have launched an investigation into the case and are hunting for the suspect, the official stated

Before the fatal incident occurred, witnesses saw a car stop suddenly after it moved along Street 163, the Cambodian newspaper reported.

A Vietnamese man then got out of the vehicle and got into an argument with another man in the car, and later walked away from the vehicle.

The other man then drove the car to pursue the victim, and when he caught up with him, the man stepped out of the car and fired three shots at the victim with a pistol.

The shot man ran away for about 15 meters before falling down on the street, while the suspect killer escaped in the vehicle. 

Local police rushed to the scene shortly later and confirmed the victim had died.

Investigators have checked security camera footage in the surrounding area to identify the culprit.

Captain Bros said the case has been transferred to detectives in the district and the Cambodian Ministry of Interior has also joined the search for the suspect.

Authorities have yet to obtain any major leads on the perpetrator's identity, the Khmer Times on Monday cited Lieutenant Colonel Vuth Phosavon, district police chief, as saying. 

Some suspects have been summoned for questioning and the probe is ongoing, the official added.

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