A Funcinpec activist in Kratie province was shot and killed outside his house last week, a party official said Tuesday.
Chroek Hoeun, 46, was shot Saturday, said May Sam Oeun, the Funcinpec campaign manager. The victim was deputy chief of the party in Chuor Krouch village, Thma Andauk commune, May Sam Oeun said.
“We believe this is a political killing. The guy is quite active in Kratie,” he said.
Kratie Governor Nou Phoeung said Tuesday said preliminary local police investigations indicate a personal dispute. He said another Funcinpec activist is a suspect.
But Nou Phoeung stressed it is an “unofficial conclusion” and he hopes to have more details later.
Chroek Hoeun’s death is the 21st killing alleged to be politically motivated, based on a recent UN report. The Phnom Penh office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is investigating at least 17 killings, but so far has declared two “likely political.”
Also, the Sam Rainsy Party said a party activist from Battambang turned up dead last week after a fishing trip with a commune police official. Police have been unable to confirm the death.
The wife of Reth Savoeun, a Sam Rainsy Party recruiter who lived in the Kbal Tol village of Battambang’s Ek Phnom district, found her husband’s body July 15 inside a large bamboo fish trap in a nearby swamp, the party said.
(Additional reporting by Marc Levy and Touch Rotha)
