A Cambodian court on Tuesday acquitted charges against five Chinese nationals who had been accused of murdering their housemate in Phnom Penh in November last year, according to a verdict.
The five defendants are Yang Pei Pei, 25, Zeng Wenxuan, 53, Zhao Chunxi, 51, Xu Fuju, 58, and Lou Zaizun, 44.
They were initially suspected of killing Chinese woman Chen Huaying, 25, an employee for Chinese construction company Tong Fang, in their shared apartment in Phnom Penh's Por Senchey district on Nov. 15, with multiple stab wounds in her torso and her throat slit.
"The court found that fingerprints on knives found at the scene did not match any of the five suspects," said the verdict pronounced by Phnom Penh Municipal Court presiding judge Ly Lipmeng on Tuesday.
It added that other evidence materials also showed no involvement of the suspects to the murder case.
"Based on a thorough examination, the court decides to acquit charges against the five suspects," said the verdict.
The court also ordered the prosecutor to launch a reinvestigation into the case in order to bring the real perpetrator(s) to justice.
In a final hearing on July 25, Chhay Vannak, a security guard at the apartment building, told the court that guard Orn Sanghar, who was on duty at the time of the murder, had disappeared the day Chen Huaying was killed without providing a reason.
Orn Sanghar, who is still at large, is now a new suspect in the case.
