Seven suspended and former Phnom Penh Municipal Court officials convicted in December on corruption charges following Prime Minister Hun Sen’s controversial “iron fist” judicial reform campaign were all acquitted in a retrial by Battambang Provincial Court on Friday, officials said.
The men had been found guilty by the court on Dec 21 of taking bribes to release robbery suspects, but they never showed up at their hearings and were subsequently never arrested.
Fired judge Kong Sarith and fired deputy prosecutor Siem Sok Aun as well as suspended judges Ham Mengse, Hing Thirith and suspended deputy prosecutor Khut Sopheang all had their four-year prison terms thrown out by Judge Ith Samphors.
Court clerks Ly Meng and Sang Satny were also cleared and had their four-year terms overturned, Deputy Court Prosecutor Hing Bunchea said. All the officials except Hing Thirith and Sang Satny attended the hearing, but could not be reached for comment.
Hing Bunchea declined to comment further on the case, while Ith Samphors could not be contacted.
Cambodian Defenders Project lawyer Chum Sovannaly, who represented Siem Sok Aun, said there was no clear evidence against his client. “There is only a police report,” he said.
Three civilians, Nuon Cheav, Chan Dina and Heng Kimlieng, were convicted of paying the bribes in the December trial and sentenced to 18 months in jail each.
Heng Kimlieng was the only defendant to show up at that hearing and has been imprisoned since then. The three cases were not part of the retrial.
On March 3, 2005, Hun Sen opened his campaign by vowing to convict corrupt judges and re-arrest criminals they had released.
Political analyst Lao Mong Hay said the verdict might cause the public to think the iron fist campaign was a good idea thwarted by court officials looking out for each other. But the public might also think charges made during the campaign lacked evidence to back them up, he added. Yin Meng Ly, provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, said the verdict undermined the credibility of the campaign.
“The iron fist of Samdech had an influence but it seems to have only lasted a little while,” he said.
