Sar Kheng chides province officials #Russians UPDATED: Preah Sihanouk police chief transferred

[geovalin]

May Titthara, Shaun Turton and Koam Chanrasmey

Interior Minister Sar Kheng has launched a scathing attack on Preah Sihanouk’s provincial governor and police chief, accusing them of doing nothing to address a spate of violent crimes.

Speaking yesterday, the deputy prime minister warned the men they could no longer drag their feet and must “act swiftly” to protect foreigners and Cambodians in the coastal province, which over the past three months has seen a violent robbery, an attempted shooting and a vicious brawl – the last connected to alleged Russian gangsters.

“Things have happened, but they take no notice until the orders have been issued from the top level and operation teams have been sent, which means they are bad,” Kheng said at the closing ceremony of a drug-monitoring conference in the capital.

“And what does the police chief [seang Kosal] do? He sleeps in the province and does not open his eyes to see [what is going on] in Koh Rong, [where] foreigners are robbed and shot,” he added, referring to the violent March 19 robbery on the island.

“Cambodia looks so bad.… When we advertise [Kingdom of Wonder], “wonder” in what way? If [tourists] come, they are robbed and treated badly.”

Responding yesterday, Preah Sihanouk Provincial Governor Chhet Sokhun said the men involved in the Koh Rong attack, which saw two Canadians and a Finnish national beaten and robbed of $4,000, had been arrested and charged.

He added: “Currently, we have more restrictions to make sure no crimes happen in the province.”

However, during his speech, Kheng said he was told by local authorities there were only three police officers and some military police protecting the popular tourist island.

Accusing the authorities of shirking responsibility, he said: “This cannot be a joke, because this is a Cambodian opportunity. We cannot easily capture peace and political stability”.

Kheng’s comments follow a warning last week by National Police chief Neth Savoeun, who threatened to fire police officers across the country if their negligence led to crimes such as armed robberies.

Sihanoukville police on Monday arrested another man, Russian Andrei Tcekhanskii, allegedly involved in the vicious February 13 brawl at the city’s Queenco Hotel, which left Moldovan national Mihai Bulgar with a stab wound to his torso.

Sihanoukville deputy provincial police chief Kol Phally said Tcekhanskii was suspected of being among the group involved in the fight, connected with a row over ticket-sale profits for the ultimately scrapped East European kaZantip music festival.

Local hotelier and vice president of the Sihanoukville Tourist Association Douglas McColl said yesterday that police needed to continue to take concerted action.

He said negative press surrounding the recent crimes, combined with a drop in the euro and Russian ruble, could combine to hurt local businesses dependent on tourism.

“Over the last few months, we’ve seen an escalation from petty crime into something completely different,” McColl said.

“And this is not good for anybody. What you are now getting is people associating Sihanoukville with Russian mafia; although this is not the reality, the impact on perception is enormous.”

In recent months, Sihanoukville has been rocked by a feud between rival Russian businessmen Sergei Polonsky, a property tycoon and wanted man in Russia, and longtime Cambodia-based expatriate Nikolai Doroshenko. The feud, which has included allegations of attempted assassinations, last week saw Doroshenko arrested on fraud charges.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/sar-kheng-chides-province-officials

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Preah Sihanouk police chief transferred

Thu, 2 April 2015

May Titthara

Preah Sihanouk provincial police chief Seang Kosal was relieved of his post yesterday in favour of the current Phnom Penh municipal police deputy chief, Chuon Narin, one day after Interior Minister Sar Kheng excoriated Kosal for his ineffectual management of a recent rash of high-profile crimes.

According to a draft of the transfer document, the official ceremony will be performed Monday by the deputy director of the ministry’s personnel department, Major General Hean Sareoun.

Speaking at the close of an anti-drug conference Wednesday, Kheng issued a blistering broadside against Kosal, accusing him of sleeping on the job.

“Things have happened, but they take no notice until the orders have been issued from the top level and operations teams have been sent, which means they are bad,” Kheng said, in an apparent reference to a special investigations team sent to Sihanoukville to look into recent crimes against foreigners.

“And what does the police chief [seang Kosal] do? He sleeps in the province and does not open his eyes to see [what is going on] in Koh Rong, [where] foreigners are robbed and shot,” he continued, alluding to a violent March 19 robbery on the island.

“Cambodia looks so bad.… When we advertise [it as the Kingdom of Wonder], ‘wonder’ in what way? If [tourists] come, they are robbed and treated badly,” he concluded.

Ministry of Interior spokesman General Khieu Sopheak confirmed yesterday that the recent attention-grabbing crimes – particularly robberies of foreigners and criminal behaviour among the coastal province’s Russian expatriate community – were the reason behind Kosal’s transfer.

“There are some problems in the province. Because of these reasons, the ministry decided to appoint the Chhuon Narin as [Preah Sihanouk province] police chief,” Sopheak said. “Seang Kosal, former provincial police chief, will be transferred to the ministry. He will be appointed as deputy director of the tourism department.”

Narin, Kosal and Kosal’s deputy, Kol Phally, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Preah Sihanouk provincial governor Chhit Sokhon, himself a target of Kheng’s dressing-down on Wednesday, declined to comment, saying he was too busy.

Yesterday, General Neth Savoeun, general commissioner of National Police, convened with police chiefs from Phnom Penh and around the country, as well as department experts, to discuss measures to measures to tighten security – particularly for investors and foreign tourists – noting that early 2015 had been marked by a spike in crime.

Deputy National Police Chief Lieutenant General Kirt Chantharith told reporters after the meeting that while the number of crimes had decreased in March, incidents of serious crimes, such as armed robberies, had increased – to the detriment of the police force’s reputation.

“The national police chief cannot let things like this happen anymore,” he said.

Chantharith later added that Narin was known for his strong track record of handling serious cases in Phnom Penh, even among officers in Sihanoukville.

“He is suited for this position based on the experience and achievements he’s made for years,” Chantharith said. “We believe he has ability to do better than the previous police chief, and when we raised his name, many local policemen [in Preah Sihanouk] supported him.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHEANG SOKHA