CPP President’s Son Still Not Charged in S’ville Shooting

Five days after Chea Thea, a son of CPP President Chea Sim, allegedly shot up a Sihanoukville restaurant, charges against him have not been filed.

Police officials said Thursday that the owner of the damaged Lucky Beer Garden, Lim Bun, did not file a complaint with the authorities because he is afraid for his personal safety.

Meanwhile, a top provincial police official said that “police have filed a report and the case is kept at the commissioner’s office.”

But Em Bun San, Sihanouk­ville’s police commissioner, claim­ed “the report is not in my hands.”

When asked about the case Thursday, one of Chea Thea’s relatives said, “I know nothing, I am busy in my work.”

After a dispute between the owner of the Lucky Beer Garden and Chea Thea, the official’s son and a group of bodyguards alleg­edly used three AK-47s to damage the rest­aurant on Aug 29. No one was in­jured, police said.

On Tuesday, Kun­thea Borei, chief of protocol for Chea Sim, also the Senate president, said that Chea Sim is aware of the situation and is investigating re­ports of his son’s involvement.

This incident comes a month af­ter Nhim Pisey, a nephew of Prime Minister Hun Sen, was arrested and jailed for firing his gun and injuring two people outside a Phnom Penh nightclub.

“Just because you are a prime min­ister’s child or nephew, you can­not commit anything at whim, no,” Hun Sen said July 31. “Law is law and all must be equal before it.”