Four City Police Officers Taken Into Custody

Four Phnom Penh police officers were taken into custody on Tues­day and Wednesday in connection with a variety of alleged crimes in­cluding destroying evidence, falsifying documents and involvement in a fatal shooting in November 2004, po­lice said Wednesday.

National Police Commissioner Hok Lundy confirmed the police of­fi­cers were in custody but declined to give details of the case, as he said this could cause other suspects to flee.

“We are not yet revealing the names of the suspects, because we are afraid people will run away,” Hok Lundy said, adding that some of the arrested officers may have been linked to killings.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said three or four men had been detained for questioning about falsified documents, but declined to elaborate.

Police officers working on the case who declined to be named said that one of the four, Tuol Kok district’s Toek La’ak II commune police chief Doung Sitha, was questioned and subsequently released Wednesday.

Deputy chief of the Interior Min­is­try penal police Mok Chito said three men were still being held for questioning on Wednesday afternoon.

Police sources identified the three as deputy Tuol Kok district po­lice chief Heng Watana, municipal autopsy police chief Prach Nhat and his unit chief Sok Sopheak.

Heng Watana was taken into cus­tody at 9 am Tuesday for questioning about the Nov 2, 2004 kil­l­ing of 25-year-old Chao Mach, who was shot dead while riding a motorbike, police said. Chao Mach was later accused of robbery.

Prach Nhat and Sok Sopheak were taken into custody Tuesday for questioning about the alleged destruction of evidence in murder cases, police said.

Hok Lundy denied any connection between the detentions and oth­er recent high-profile police ar­rests including that of former mu­nicipal police official Ly Rasy, who was jailed in January for alleged in­volvement in the killings of judge Sok Sethamony and of a woman in police custody. “This case is not involved in Ly Rasy’s case,” Hok Lundy said. “It is different.”

     (Additional reporting by Ethan Plaut)