A sudden bout of high blood pressure forced Supreme Court Judge Nil Non to postpone the final day of hearings on Thursday over a trio of cases involving disgraced former municipal police chief Heng Pov.
During this week’s hearings, originally scheduled to last for three days, Mr. Pov has put forth an inflammatory testimony detailing corruption and power struggles at the upper levels of the Ministry of Interior.
Judge Non, the Supreme Court vice president, said he made the decision to delay the hearing into Mr. Pov’s conviction for an attack that left an Electricite du Cambodge official paralyzed in 2005.
“I decided to delay the trial because I fell ill with high blood pressure,” he said. “I need to rest in order to treat it.”
Mr. Pov spoke for the previous two days about former National Police Commissioner Hok Lundy’s crusade against him and of being framed for a slew of crimes, including those being reviewed this week. Supreme Court clerk Tho Navy said the court would inform the public about a new hearing when it is scheduled.
One of Heng Pov’s lawyers, Khiev Sepphan, declined to comment, as did lawyers for three other defendants in the case.
