A former court director convicted of giving his son an impounded SUV was set free on Thursday after serving one-and-a-half years in prison and will be barred from working as a prosecutor, judge or state employee again, officials said.
Ang Mealaktei, the former director of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, was freed from the Kandal Provincial Prison at about 10 a.m., according to provincial court prosecutor Lim Sokuntha.
“According to the law, he cannot become a judge or prosecutor again,” Mr. Sokuntha said.
Justice Ministry spokesman Chin Malin said Mr. Mealaktei was ineligible for state work because he was found guilty of a crime.
“Now he becomes an ordinary person, so he can do business for himself,” Mr. Malin said.
Government spokesman Phay Siphan said at the time of Mr. Mealaktei’s February 2015 detention that his arrest was long overdue as corruption had become entrenched in the court.
But prosecutors have said the former director would face no additional charges aside from his two-year sentence for unlawful exploitation, reduced by six months by royal decree.
