Born Oak Eap Pili (Khmer: ឱក អៀបពីលី), Pilika appeared in hundreds of films and thousands of karaoke videos from the 1980s through the 1990s.

Her career was brought to a premature end when she was murdered in broad daylight at O'Russey Market in Phnom Penh.

Pili began to study Cambodian cultural dance in 1980, supported by her aunt, Meng Sonali, a teacher at the School of Fine Arts.

She was invited to star in her own film called Sromorl Anthakal (Shadow of Darkness) by Wat Phnom Productions.

On 6 July 1999, Pilika was shot by an unidentified male assailant while shopping at O'Russey Market in Phnom Penh.

The alleged additional evidence included witnesses, documents, business papers, and personal objects of Hun Sen, which they said would prove the prime minister was involved in an affair with Pilika and that his wife had her killed out of jealousy.

Kek Galabru, president of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (LICADHO), described the lack of progress in the case as yet another example of the problem of impunity in Cambodia.