Prime Minister Hun Sen pledged Thursday to crack down on Taiwanese crime gangs following revelations that at least one prominent Taipei underworld figure has been operating here for more than two years.
Speaking at the seventh anniversary celebration of the Military Police Training School in Kandal province, Hun Sen said legitimate investment from Taiwan was welcome but not criminal syndicates.
“The situation here is good, and Chen Chi-li, no problem, we arrest [men like] him, and destroy mafia groups from Taiwan,” said Hun Sen, according to Agence France-Presse.
Chen Chi-li, a former Taiwan triad chief, was charged with possession of illegal weapons and involvement in organized crime on Wednesday. He’s being held at the National Military Police headquarters in Phnom Penh. Two suspected accomplices, who were arrested with Chen Chi-li on Saturday, are also being held. A third suspect was released. They can be held for up to six months before they must be tried.
The prime minister’s comments come one day after a military intelligence officer claimed authorities are closing in on up to 30 Taiwanese linked to organized crime, which often include activities related to casinos, extortion, and smuggling.
However, Cambodia’s police forces have a poor track record of bringing criminals to justice, and the public has little confidence in those paid to uphold the law, a studies have shown. Arrests in one high profile case did occur last week, when three men suspected of shooting dead the president of the Taiwanese Business Association of Cambodia were taken into custody.
A Taiwanese source who has met Chen Chi-li at least four times said this week that the godfather is retired as the head of the Bamboo Union gang but is still considered its spiritual leader by its 10,000 members worldwide.
Chen Chi-li, in addition to running a travel company, has been involved in buying and selling property in Cambodia and is purported to own land on National Road 4, the source said. He said Chen Chi-li is an intelligent and wealthy man.
Chen Chi-li, who once worked as an adviser to CPP President Chea Sim and had earned an honorary title from the government, was known to mix with prominent political and security officials, an Asian diplomat said.
His arrest is a blow to those government officials close to him, Interior Ministry and diplomatic sources said this week.
One Interior Ministry official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the arrest was aimed at removing a rich individual associated to CPP officials outside Hun Sen’s inner circle.
Nop Sophon, Municipal Court vice-president, said Thursday he signed the detention warrants for the three and will also act as investigating judge in the case.
