As police continue to search for an Indonesian man accused of stealing $161,000 from a casino in Kandal province, the provincial court Monday charged another Indonesian with breach of trust for allegedly stealing $50,000 from the same casino, police said.
Abelian Yodha, a first secretary at the Indonesian Embassy, said Monday that Jefry Sun was wanted by police for questioning over a $161,000 theft from the casino at the Grand Dragon Resort in Kandal’s Koh Thom district.
Both Mr. Yodha and Iv Chamroeun, Kandal provincial police chief, said the Interior Ministry’s general immigration department was handling the case.
Contacted Monday, Uk Heisela, chief of investigations at the immigration department, denied any knowledge of the case against Mr. Sun, but said that police had arrested another Indonesian man named only as Avin, 27, early last week at the Poipet border checkpoint in Banteay Meanchey province.
“We arrested him regarding a deportation in 2012,” he said. “We sent him out in 2012 and he came back.”
According to Major General Heisela, Mr. Avin was deported in 2012 for illegal gambling. He added that Mr. Avin had been held at the immigration department in Phnom Penh until Monday morning, when he was transferred to Kandal at the request of the provincial court. The court, Maj. Gen. Heisela explained, was seeking him for the theft of $50,000 from the Grand Dragon Resort’s casino.
“He…transferred the money from the casino to his friend’s account,” he said.
Lim Sokuntha, chief prosecutor at the Kandal Provincial Court, said he charged Mr. Avin with breach of trust.
“Now we have sent this case to the investigating judge for processing,” he said.
Mr. Yodha, the embassy official, said he met with immigration officials Monday and was informed of Mr. Avin’s case.
“I can assure you it is not related to Jefry Sun,” he said, adding that the embassy did not believe that Mr. Avin was an Indonesian citizen.
(Additional reporting by Saing Soenthrith)