Police arrested another 26 illegal Chinese immigrants Saturday in a raid on a villa in the Prampi Makara district of Phnom Penh, district police and a court official said Sunday.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Nget Sarath said Sunday that none of the 26 Chinese nationals held passports, and all were being detained by police at the residence located behind the Council of Ministers building.
The immigrants were arrested in a house reportedly owned by the ex-wife of the Minister for Rural Development Chhim Seak Leng, Prampi Makara District Police Chief Yim Simony said.
“The house belongs to Chhim Seak Leng’s ex-wife who has gone to the United States….This is [Chhim Seak Leng’s] statement, but I have not seen any documents to prove his claim yet,” Yim Simony said.
Interviewed by telephone Sunday, Chhim Seak Leng said that as part of a divorce settlement the house was awarded to his former wife Chorn Chean by the Appeals Court on June 25, 1998. Chorn Chean went to the US more than a month ago with the couple’s three children, Chhim Seak Leng said.
