Official Involved in Crash Released Pending Inquiries

A senior Preah Sihanouk provincial police official who crashed his SUV into two Indonesian men riding a motorbike on Thursday night in Sihanoukville and then fled the scene was released on Friday night pending further inquiries into the crash, police said on Monday.

Deputy provincial police chief Y Sokha said that Chao Meng, head of the provincial economic crime police, had been questioned on Friday evening and later released without charge.

The Indonesians sustained only slight injuries in the initial crash; the SUV fared much worse after Mr. Meng proceeded to crash it into the curb of a roundabout.

“Officials called him in for [questioning] and then let him go because we already got the identity and the responsibility regarding the matter,” Mr. Sokha said.

“Regarding the law, there is no need to imprison him because he was not too drunk,” he said, adding that the Indonesian men had not filed a complaint.

Mr. Sokha said that the decision on whether to arrest Mr. Meng would be made by his superiors at a later date.

Asked whether Mr. Meng would be liable for compensating the victims, he said: “We are managing this work.”

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