The well-tended gardens, the long swimming pool and the satellite dish remain at the Tuol Kok district home of reputed Taiwanese gangster Chen Chi-li.
But for the last 13 months, the home of the man believed to be the former leader of Taiwan’s Bamboo Union triad has sat empty, watched only by two policemen and a gardener. There have been none of the lavish parties to which foreign businessmen and friends came to pay their respects to Chen Chi-li.
“No cars or guests come now,” a middle-aged woman said Thursday as she served food outside the house’s gate on Street 592.
Last July, Chen Chi-li, now 59, was arrested in a combined municipal and military police raid. Police discovered a Cambodian passport that listed Chen Chi-li as an adviser to Senate President Chea Sim, as well as 11 automatic rifles, eight handguns, one M79 grenade launcher and more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition.
“Even the bedrooms had gun racks and there were guns in the wardrobes,” Tuol Kok district Governor Klang Huot said at the time.
Today in Phnom Penh Municipal Court, the man who is thought to be the spiritual leader of the Bamboo Union’s 10,000 worldwide members faces charges of involvement with organized crime and possession of illegal weapons. The result of the trial could mark the end of his year-long stay at the National Military Police Headquarters in Phnom Penh.
Also arrested in the raid and facing charges today are Taiwanese national Lia Mong In, 28, and mainland Chinese national Quong Ou Quing, 45.
Despite speculation that Chen Chi-li would be released and sent to Taiwan, where he also faces criminal charges, court officials Thursday said Chen Chi-li’s case will be determined on the evidence alone. Last month, he was denied bail by Municipal Court Deputy Director Judge Nop Sophon.
“I cannot say whether the evidence will be enough to convict, because sometimes at a trial, more evidence can be found” through witness testimony Municipal Court prosecutor Chhim Chiva said.
Sin Sophanny, judicial military police chief, said most of the weapons found by police did not have the required permits.
“But I heard that somebody is looking for the licenses to show that they are legal,” he said.
A Taiwanese court in 1985 convicted Chen Chi-li or murder in the 1984 slaying of a dissident Taiwanese writer near San Francisco, in the US state of California.
Taiwanese officials sentenced him to six years in prison, but released him after only six years. He fled to Cambodia, perhaps three years ago, to avoid criminal charges in another case.
Although Taiwanese businessmen have invested heavily in Cambodia in recent years, Taiwan and Cambodia do not have diplomatic relations or an extradition treaty.
Once established in Cambodia, Chen Chi-li is said to have become involved in buying and selling property. He reportedly owns land on National Road 4, a Taiwanese source said last year.
Chen Chi-li was also known to mix with prominent political and security officials, according to an Asian diplomat. And he held the honorary Cambodian title of Okhna, bestowed upon civilians who donate generously to government officials and projects.
Chen Chi-li’s arrest was a blow to those government officials close to him, Ministry of Interior and diplomatic sources said last year.
One Interior Ministry official said last year the arrest was aimed at removing an armed and rich individual associated with CPP officials outside of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s inner circle.
The arrest came a few weeks after the president of the Taiwanese Business Association was shot dead in broad daylight in Phnom Penh. Chen Chi-li’s jailing was prompted by a television interview he gave to a Taiwanese film crew, in which he criticized the security situation in Cambodia and displayed numerous weapons inside his house.
Phnom Penh Governor Chea Sophara later ordered Chen Chi-li’s arrest, and the prime minister pledged to crack down on Taiwanese crime gangs. At the time, Hun Sen said that legitimate investment from Taiwan was welcome, but not criminal syndicates.
“Chen Chi-li, no problem. We arrest [men like] him, and destroy mafia groups from Taiwan,” the premier was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying at the time.
When asked Thursday about the prospect that Chen Chi-li would be released by the court, Chea Sophara said: “He has a lot of members. I feel frightened. But we are good people, so we don’t worry.”
