A CPP official in Battambang province is preparing to file a court complaint accusing an SRP official of incitement, after SRP officials claimed that two people shot last week were party supporters targeted in a political attack.
Chhum San was shot dead Wednesday and her husband Yut Yen was shot in the leg when an unidentified man opened fire on them outside their home in Mong Russei district’s Talos commune, police said.
The SRP and the Committee for Free and Fair Elections have said the couple were former CPP members who had recently begun supporting the SRP.
Mong Russei district governor Long Som said he has asked a lawyer to file a complaint at the provincial court accusing SRP district director Puth Yoeun of coercing the victims’ daughter Yen Sakhorn to falsely claim she had attended an SRP rally on the day of the attack.
“The victims are CPP members,” Long Som said. “When Puth Yoeun claimed that they were Sam Rainsy Party members, [it] was incitement and disinformation.”
Long Som’s lawyer Ham Mony said he had not filed the lawsuit, but was working on the case.
Mong Russei deputy district police chief Siek Pheak said police have yet to identify any suspects and do not know what motivated the attack.
Puth Yoeun said Sunday that the victims’ daughter had been pressured by the CPP to deny attending the SRP rally. He added that he did not fear the pending legal action.
SRP Secretary-General Mu Sochua said it no longer mattered to the party whether the victims were SRP or CPP supporters. The SRP simply wants the perpetrators to be brought to justice, she said.
Yin Mengly, provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc, said that during his interview with Yut Yen, he had denied that he and his wife were CPP members.
“They are neutral,” Yin Mengly said.
“Political parties should not claim that [the victims] belong to any parties, but should [ask to] arrest the perpetrators,” he added.
