Family Terrorized by Invading Robbers

SANTA ANA â€”  Chheng Kuy and her family thought they had found a safe haven here after fleeing Cambodia’s killing fields and Pol Pot’s bloody regime nearly 20 years ago. But three masked gunmen proved them wrong early Wednesday morning.

As Kuy left home about 5:30 a.m. for her job at a local optical factory, she was grabbed by the three assailants, pistol-whipped and then pushed back into the house. The commotion woke her six children.

“I was screaming ‘Call the police!’ � Kuy said Thursday, recalling the terror-filled home invasion robbery. “He hit me. He held his hand over my mouth and I bit him.�

The gunmen escaped in the family’s new Toyota Avalon with jewelry, a small strongbox and about $700 in cash, leaving Kuy and most of her children tied up in a back bedroom.

Before the attack, Kuy, 49, suspected something was amiss. For days, a man sat across the street watching her house as she left for work. She believes the suspect saw her wearing jewelry, which may have prompted the robbery.

As the gunmen forced her inside Wednesday, the scuffle awoke the children, most of whom were at home on spring break. As they came running into the living room, the robbers forced them to lie face-down on the floor.

Kuy’s 18-year-old son, who was in a back bedroom, jumped out a window and ran to a neighbor’s house to call 911.

The robbers, meanwhile, herded the family into Chheng Kuy’s bedroom. The victims were bound and gagged, and placed face-down on the bed. The suspects then put pillows and blankets over their heads.

The men ransacked the house, demanding money and jewelry. By the time police arrived, the robbers had fled. An officer found the stolen car nearby.