A human rights group has condemned the execution earlier this month of a Kandal-province man whom the group says allegedly was tied to a flagpole and gunned down by local police.
Workers from Adhoc said Wednesday that Aun Vang, 48, was arrested April 12 by four police officers from Ponhea Leu district and accused of being a spy and a cattle thief. The arrest was made at 7:30 am.
Aun Vang’s sister later found her brother dead under the flagpole of the district police station, his hands tied behind his back, according to Chan Saveth, an Adhoc worker. He was shot two or three times, Adhoc said.
“The shooting and killing of a human in such a fierce manner is against the law of Cambodia, and the authorities in this district must be condemned,” Chan Saveth said.
Chan Saveth said there was no evidence that Aun Vang was a cattle thief or a spy.
Kandal authorities denied that police were involved and said the slaying was the result of a family dispute over land.
Tom Vai, Kandal provincial police chief, said the victim was shot by his stepson at home because the stepson was “furious” that his stepfather had sold family land to other villagers. He vowed an arrest would be made.
Adhoc President Thun Saray condemned the extrajudicial killing. “If he is guilty [of a crime], he must be sent to the court under the law, and not taken to be killed,” Thun Saray said.
The Adhoc president appealed to authorities to bring the killer to justice and said failure to do so would “intimidate the public during the election campaign.” Aun Vang was a Funcinpec member, but Thun Saray said there was no evidence the killing was politically motivated.
