Defense Ministry official Thong Sarath, who has been on the run since he was charged earlier this month with organizing the assassination of a prominent Phnom Penh businessman, has been placed on Interpol’s red notice list of most wanted criminals.
Major General Sarath has been charged by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court with coordinating the November 22 murder of Shimmex chairman Ung Meng Chue over a business dispute.
The hit was allegedly carried out by four of his bodyguards, who are currently being held in provisional detention.
On its website, Interpol says that Maj. Gen. Sarath is “wanted by the judicial authorities of Cambodia for prosecution/to serve a sentence” over charges of “initiative in premeditated murder.”
The notice says that the fugitive general is 37 years old, was born in Svay Rieng province and speaks Khmer and Vietnamese.
Lim Sokha Raksmey, the acting director of Cambodia’s Interpol office, said that a red notice for Maj. Gen. Sarath was put out on Tuesday at the request of Cambodian police.
“I cannot comment on this case while Interpol is working on it,” he said.
