Phnom Penh police have launched a murder investigation following the fatal shooting of a member of the Interior Ministry’s elite Flying Tigers unit, officers said on Wednesday.
Chey Kimsan, 30, was shot once in the head at 9 pm on Tuesday while driving his motorcycle on busy Norodom Boulevard near the site of the former Japanese Embassy.
Witnesses saw two men approach Chey Kimsan on a motorcycle, then open fire at point blank range to the back of his head, said Nhem Sao Nol, Daun Penh District deputy police chief.
The victim and his motorcycle crashed to a halt 20 meters from where he was shot, said Nhem Sao Nol.
Nothing was taken from the slain officer and robbery has been ruled out as a motive, police officers said, adding that a spent shell from a K-54 handgun was found at the scene.
“There are no suspects yet. We are investigating with Penal Police. We are working really hard,” said Nhem Sao Nol.
Dozens of well-armed Flying Tigers officers and Interior Ministry police descended on the crime scene shortly after the killing.
Officers at the scene said they were surprised that a member of Flying Tigers had been targeted.
Usually traveling on large motorcycles and heavily armed, the Flying Tigers have a reputation for dealing swiftly, and often fatally, with criminal suspects.
Interior Ministry sources say the Tigers take orders directly from Hok Lundy, director general of the National Police.
Police officers in Daun Penh district Penal Police section, where Chey Kimsan had worked since 1993, said on Wednesday he was a quiet man and had no known enemies.
Earlier on the night of his death, Chey Kimsan had been part of a patrol checking for illegal weapons near the Cambodiana Hotel.
He was on his way home when he was attacked, an officer said on condition of anonymity.
