‘Military official’ shoots guard at The Shop

[geovalin]

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A security guard was shot in the foot during a late-night confrontation outside The Shop cafe on Street 240 by a man witnesses described as a military official.

Police said the incident, on January 24, was not being investigated because no complaint had been lodged.

Multiple sources yesterday confirmed that the guard, named locally as 34-year-old Bun Soeun, was shot in the right foot at about 2am by a man who drove off in a luxury car.

But other details of the confrontation were contested.

According to Ngor Ly, 65, a motodop who said he witnessed the incident, Soeun had been coming to the aid of a woman who had jumped out of the shooter’s Lexus while it was still moving and tried to run away.

He said the man, who was dressed in a black suit of a style commonly worn by off-duty military officials, and a bodyguard dragged the woman back into the car.

“The reason why that the high-raking-military official has shot him is because he has tried to help the girl and has looked on his [the shooter’s] face,” said Ly.

His version of events was backed by several other residents.

The owner of the Street 240 cafe, Griet Lorre, said the motodop’s version of events was not correct but declined to give details, saying the guard feared retaliation.

She declined to provide access to CCTV footage of the shooting.

Police responsible for the area contacted yesterday said they knew nothing of the incident.

Second Lieutenant Lim Serey Sorphorn said: “Until now, I did not know about this case. Our police did not receive any complaint from villager or victim yet.”

“Our police will not investigate on this case because there was no complaint,” he added.

Colonel Huoth Yarann, chief of Daun Penh District Police, also said he did not know about the incident.

“I think that if there was a complaint from the victim, we will do investigation and research on this case,” he said.

Additional reporting by Will Jackson.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/military-official-shoots-guard-shop