Kompong Cham province police have detained two of their own officers for their alleged involvement in the shooting of a villager, which occurred after a man died in a hit-and-run accident involving a police official’s son.
Touch On, 55, chief of the provincial information police department, and officer Sok Tran, are being detained at provincial police headquarters “for accidentally shooting a villager,” provincial police chief Nuon Samin said.
Injured villager Yem Sim, 27, has alleged that the two officers opened fire on him because he refused to hand over a car license plate that dislodged when a Mitsubishi Pajero, driven by the son of a provincial police chief, crashed, killing on man and injuring his wife and child.
The young driver, whose father is deputy provincial police chief Seng Sokim, was reportedly drunk at the time and fled the accident scene on foot.
Nuon Samin said that his officers accidentally shot the villager, as they were a “little drunk” at the time. He denied the officer were trying to cover up the accident by taking the crashed vehicle’s license plate.
“It was an accidental shooting and only caused minor injury to a villager,” he added.
Nuon Samin also said the traffic accident was a civil matter and no charges will be laid against his deputy’s son.
