Brazen thieves snatch handbag from woman riding motorcycle

This is the shocking moment thieves snatch a woman's handbag as she rides a motorcycle - sending her crashing into the ground.

The four men trailed the woman on a motorway before two of them sped alongside her in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on October 27.

One attacker leant over and grabbed her bag, yanking it from her hands and knocking her down to the ground.

CCTV shows how she smashed into the hard tarmac - without a helmet or protective gear - but sat back up dazed by the incident.

Police were handed footage of the incident and began investigating. They identified three suspects as Sok Loun, Lon Sen Veasna and Noun Raksmey.

The trio, all in their early 20s, were arrested and admitted they had been in a gang of six others who had been snatching bags from victims on motorcycles for the last few months.

Officers paraded the three lads in handcuffs outside the city's criminal court yesterday (November 8) while they hunt the other three gang members. They are also appealing for other victims to come forward.

A spokesman for the Cambodian military police said: ''The victim in the video did not file a complaint but four days after the incident we received a report about the video of the theft.

''The police took immediate action and on November 3 arrested three of the gang.

''Under the expert interrogation of the police, the three suspects admitted that they had taken the victim's bag and that a fourth person was involved in the incident.

''There are six people in their group who regularly carry out shock and snatch activities stealing bags and telephones on the street.''