Phnom penh: Prosecutors in Cambodia have indicted three Chinese nationals for allegedly torturing a South Korean university student to death in Cambodia in August, a news report said Saturday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Kampot Provincial Prosecutor’s Office filed murder and fraud charges against the three suspects the day before.

The student was found dead inside a black car near Bokor Mountain in Cambodia’s Kampot Province on Aug. 8. Two Chinese suspects, who were in the car at the time, were immediately arrested, the news report said, citing a prosecution spokesperson.

Local investigators later raided a nearby villa believed to be a crime scene and detained an additional Chinese accomplice, he added.

When discovered, the victim showed signs of severe torture, with numerous bruises and wounds across his body. Local police listed the cause of death on the death certificate as cardiac arrest due to torture.

The student had traveled to Cambodia in mid-July, telling his family he was going to attend an exhibition there. A week after his departure, a blackmailer speaking Korean with a Chinese Korean accent called the family and demanded 50 million won (US$34,976), claiming the student had caused trouble.

The area where the victim was found has been linked to employment scams and detentions targeting South Koreans. His body has not yet been repatriated.

Cambodia’s interior ministry, however, denied reports that the victim’s family had sought help through the South Korean Embassy or local police, saying Cambodian authorities had not received any complaints or relevant information.

The ministry added that the authorities are working closely with the South Korean side to ensure necessary procedures are carried out smoothly and that the remaining accomplices are still being tracked.