/ 19 April 2007

Try as he might, he couldn’t kick the habit

An unsuccessful sexual advance by an elderly Cambodian man on a young heifer ended badly when the bovine fought back, kicking him to death, local media quoted police and villagers as saying on Thursday.

Khmer-language daily Kampuchea Thmey quoted authorities as saying that Ta Sam (67) of south-western Svay Rieng province had been divorced for just 10 days when his urges apparently overcame him in the middle of the night with tragic consequences.

Sounds of a scuffle caused the man’s grandson to investigate, whereupon he found Sam’s naked body lying under the family’s frightened cow with injuries to his head and genital area consistent with being kicked by the beast, the paper reported.

Police concluded he died in a rape attempt gone wrong, the paper said.

The paper quoted villagers as saying Sam had been divorced twice, with both wives citing his insatiable desires as the cause.

It added that police did not expect to take any action against the cow, which was not named, as she appeared to have been acting in self defence. ‒ Sapa-DPA