Military cops suspended + Trial of disgraced ex-police chief starts

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Military cops suspended

Thu, 26 March 2015

Taing Vida

Four military police officers have been suspended from their duties after an incident last week in which officials shot at, arrested and beat two men driving a rice truck that ran a checkpoint.

On March 19, a truck in Tbong Khmum’s O’Reang-ou district, refused to stop at a weigh station, prompting police to open fire on the vehicle, hitting the truck’s windshield and front tyres. The driver subsequently said he had driven through the checkpoint believing it was a fake operated by robbers.

As the truck fled the station, it hit a military car, which then hit a pedestrian. The chase that ensued ended in Prey Veng province, where three officers came to the aid of the pursuing officer from Tbong Khmum and helped in subduing and arresting the passenger and driver in a fashion one local police officer described as excessive.

The suspension of the four officers comes amid an ongoing investigation into the incident launched last week by the National Military Police.

“We are working to find who else is involved in the matter [and] the reasons behind what happened … and who did [what] directly,” said National Military Police commander Sao Sokha, who convened the investigation committee. Sokha said there may be additional officers involved and more severe disciplinary action taken, depending on what the questioning reveals.

Nen Sida, the truck driver, said he was interviewed by the committee on Tuesday afternoon. Sida is also seeking $50,000 in damages, citing bodily harm and loss of property.

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Trial of disgraced ex-police chief starts

Thu, 26 March 2015

Taing Vida

A disgraced former Mean­chey district police chief faced corruption charges at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday in connection with the alleged misappropriation of almost $700,000 between 2006 and 2014.

Presiding judge Kor Vandy said Hy Narin, 60, was charged with misappropriating public funds, misappropriating civil servants’ salaries and illegally pilfering from the national budget. He faces up to 10 years in prison.

Narin was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Unit in October on suspicions that he been embezzling money via eight different schemes and scams, including taking the salaries of ghost employees, overcharging villagers for official documentation, making his officers buy gear that is meant to be provided free of charge and requiring kickbacks from junior officers.

Yesterday, he confessed to receiving some 10 million riel ($2,500) monthly from a police accountant out of funds collected from the salaries of ghost workers and from bribe-payers such as illegal business owners. The former police chief said that he personally only took half of the funds available, with the rest shared between his deputies and other officers.

“But I did not take this money for only my own use. It was used to repair the district police office’s broken roof, for renovations and to buy gasoline, furniture and other materials for everyone’s use in the office,” he said.

Narin also claimed that all police districts in Phnom Penh had similar arrangements. Senior police officials could not be reached for comment on that allegation. His trial will continue on April 10.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national