Speed Up Drug Cases, Court Told

The Head of the Ministry of Interior’s Anti-Drug Department has called on the president of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Tang Sunlay, to speed up drug case proceedings, citing a range of inefficiencies slowing the court’s ability to dispense justice. Last year, the number of drug related arrests and crimes more than doubled, while police seized 18 times more drugs compared with the year before, according to police statistics.

Despite this, Anti-Drug Department Head Mok Chito has urged the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to overhaul the way it deals with drug related crimes, stating the system was riddled with a range of inefficiencies from the way arrest warrants were distributed to police being absent at court proceedings. He cited examples in which it had taken days for the court’s prosecutor to hand over arrest warrants to police, allowing suspects ample time to make their escapes.

“Implement the warrant, please give the warrant to arrest the suspects on time,” he said. He also said there were cases where arrest warrants were given to the wrong police department, which led to the correct police department failing to investigate and arrest suspects within their jurisdiction.

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