A Funcinpec activist in Kompong Thom was shot dead over the weekend in the 12th alleged political killing in six weeks, a party official said.
Sman Kim was shot by unknown assailants while he was walking out to plow his rice field Sunday, according to Funcinpec official May Sam Oeun.
“This is political according to our reports from the province,” he said, adding that it was the fifth killing of a Funcinpec member in the past two months.
Provincial officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Previous killings called political by opposition parties have been declared personal disputes by authorities.
May Sam Oeun said that Sman Kim, a Cham who lived in Baray district, Chhuk Khsach commune, was active in Funcinpec’s campaign in Kompong Thom.
“He had been very helpful in getting Cambodian Muslims to support Funcinpec,” he said.
The Phnom Penh office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has promised to look into the case, he added.
