Naked Dishonesty of the Underwear Gang

Thieves who operate by the seat of their pants and not much else have resurfaced in southern Cambodia, after months of lying low after a crackdown.

Dubbed the underwear gang by villagers, the scantily clad robbers have struck in several parts of Takeo province during the last few weeks, the Cambodian Daily newspaper reported yesterday.

Sok Tum, a police commander in Tram Kak district, told the newspaper that two burglars wearing nothing but underpants and daubed in oil - to make them harder to identify and their bodies more difficult to grip by pursuers - had raided two homes in Leay Bo sub-district on May 30.

Other areas had also been targeted he said.

Residents have restarted 24-hour community watch patrols to prevent further attacks.

"The underwear thieves resurfaced because the villagers stopped [their patrols]," Sok Tum said, attributing the cessation to the people's need to focus on farming.

"We [have] encouraged the villagers to keep watching their neighbourhoods. And they can ring my police any time."

Previous underwear gangs were accused of rape and others carried automatic rifles, but the current one appears to be unarmed, preferring stealth and intimidation over brute force.