Vann Sun Heng, a leading CPP lawmaker, died of a heart attack Friday in Prey Veng province, where he was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Hun Sen to distribute flood aid. He was 56.
Vann Sun Heng died around 9:30 pm in Neak Luong. He was to join Hun Sen Saturday morning to distribute aid to his constituents, who have been hit hard by the floods.
Hun Sen grieved Vann Sun Heng’s death, saying he deserved “to receive respect from the people nationwide for his efforts.”
Ek Sam Ol, a close friend and fellow Prey Veng lawmaker, said Vann Sun Heng’s death was a loss for the country. He said Vann Sun Heng had good standing in the CPP and was well respected.
“We are losing an active member of the parliament who served his people and his party well,” Ek Sam Ol said.
Vann Sun Heng has been a lawmaker since 1993, when he was elected in the UN-sponsored elections. Since then he has been a member of the National Assembly’s Education, Religion, Tourism and Culture Commission.
He was one of the few vocal CPP lawmakers who occasionally attacked corruption and criticized the government.
Recently he criticized government policy, saying officials were “wasting a lot of money” by burning trucks and sawmills as part of the crackdown on illegal logging. He said the better way would be to confiscate the property and transfer it to state property.
Before he became a politician, Vann Sun Heng had professions in the media and academia.
In the 1980s when Vietnam occupied Cambodia, Vann Sun Heng was general director of the state-run Cambodian People’s Voice Radio, which today is called National Radio.
Before the Khmer Rouge regime, he was a professor at the University of Fine Arts in the early 1970s.
Vann Sun Heng’s body will be cremated Wednesday afternoon in front of Wat Botum.
