PHNOM PENH – A Vietnamese man has claimed he is the real father of a woman who Cambodians have dubbed “jungle girl” after she supposedly spent 18 years in the forest.

The woman was taken in by a Cambodian village family after she was found wandering naked and frightened on the edge of the Ratanakkiri jungle in the country’s north in 2007.

The adoptive family identified the young woman as Rochom P’ngieng, a girl who went missing in 1989 while herding water buffalo near the village of Un.

But now a 70-year-old Vietnamese man, named Pel, claims the woman is in fact his daughter who went missing in 2006 and has a history of mental health issues.

Rochom Khamphy, a member of the adoptive family, said Pel recognised her after seeing recent photos on Facebook, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

“He claimed she is his long lost daughter,” he said. “He recognises her by a spot on her lip, ear conditions and a scar on her left wrist.”

It’s believed that Pel, from Vietnam’s Gai Lai province, has since visited the Cambodian family twice – last Wednesday and Saturday.

AFP reports that Pel has also agreed to pay the woman’s adoptive family US$1,500 for taking care of her.

According to Phnom Penh Post, the woman’s Cambodian family is now preparing legal documents and permission to transfer P’nhieng home to Vietnam with the help of village, commune and district authorities.

– TiVi Tuan-san