An assistant to Funcinpec Deputy Secretary-General Than Sina was badly beaten Wednesday night by a 20-strong gang of youths armed with wood and metal batons. The victim, Chorn Chandaravuth, 33, claimed on Thursday the attack was planned and politically motivated.
However, a Funcinpec official who requested anonymity said Friday that the circumstances around the attack were still vague and it was too early to jump to conclusions.
Chorn Chandaravuth, a well-known Funcinpec member, said that he was attacked at 9 pm Wednesday outside his home in Tuk Thla commune by a large group of youths armed with cudgels.
Chorn Chandaravuth’s three younger brothers were also badly beaten when they came to their brother’s assistance.
“I don’t know those people…. But this is a political issue because those people had a plan to attack me. They had weapons ready,” Chorn Chandaravuth said. The gang later told neighbors that they plan to kill two of the four brothers, Chorn Chandaravuth added.
“I informed the police, but the police have ignored me,” he said. “I am really scared.”
Tam Am, a penal police officer in Tuk Thla, said on Friday that officers have not visited the victims but an investigation was underway.
However, the incident appeared to be a personal dispute, he said.
Fifty-five checkpoints were in operation in Phnom Penh on Thursday following the recent spate of shootings that have claimed the life of one pro-Funcinpec journalist and the mother of a popular singer linked to the Funcinpec party, Deputy Municipal Police Chief Heng Pov said.
Singer Touch Srey Nich, 24, is currently receiving emergency treatment in a Bangkok hospital for gunshot wounds she received to the face and neck while a Funcinpec-linked businessman, Seng Rachana, who was shot last Friday night, is receiving treatment for gunshot wounds in a hospital in Singapore.
Heng Pov said the cordon of checkpoints was intended to “control the security situation” following the slew of shootings and killings.
As of Thursday, 10 weapons had been confiscated at the checkpoints but no arrests made as the weapons were military arms, which were later returned to their respective military units, police said.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said Thursday an artist’s rendering of the suspects involved in the shooting of the singer and her mother will be released to the public soon.
In the meantime, checkpoints in the city were helping to “make people feel safe,” Khieu Sopheak said.
Two men were shot Tuesday, one fatally, when they failed to stop at a checkpoint in Meanchey district.
Neither man was armed or had committed any crime. Police suspected the two may have been too drunk to heed the police calls to halt.
Heng Pov said the shootings were accidental.
At a large checkpoint on Norodom Boulevard Thursday, a force of 25 policeman stopped vehicles and motorcycles.
Owners stood aside as the officers searched under seats and frisked drivers and passengers.
Police officer Sim Vuthy said that, after two days manning the checkpoint, he had seen no weapons or criminal activity.
“No weapons, no nothing,” he said.
(Additional reporting by Lor Chandara and Saing Soenthrith)
