A military policeman guarding the Pursat provincial governor’s house stirred from his sleep early Sunday morning and in what appeared to be a confused, dreamlike state shot two fellow guards and two motorbikes, police said Monday.
Kun Vanna, 38, awoke at 1:15 am, picked up his AK-47 assault rifle and fired 15 bullets at random, injuring two policemen who were sleeping in hammocks outside the governor’s compound, provincial police chief Hem Vuthea said.
Ngim Visal, 28, was shot once in the torso and Leng Kimhok, 23, was shot four times in the arm and lower abdomen, Hem Vuthea said. Leng Kimhok was transferred Monday from a hospital in Pursat to Battambang provincial hospital, he said. Both men are alive, though Leng Kimhok remains seriously injured, police said.
Kun Vanna was disarmed after the shooting.
Pursat Governor Chhay Sareth, who was inside his house sleeping at the time of the shooting, said he didn’t know the military police officer very well but described him as a gentle man with limited education.
Shortly before opening fire, Kun Vanna began shouting that someone had stolen his land, but he was likely confused because he does not own any property, Chhay Sareth said.
“We need to learn the background of military policemen before allowing them to carry weapons,” he added.
Kun Vanna was a soldier for many years and had only come to work at Chhay Sareth’s compound one year ago, the governor added.
Kun Vanna was sent to Pursat provincial prison Monday, according to Ven Lonn, monitoring officer for local rights group Licadho.
Ven Lonn said that Kun Vanna had been known to drink a lot and likely also suffers from mental health problems.
