Prime Minister Hun Sen has threatened to resign if he fails to remove government officials whose children race motorbikes and cars around Phnom Penh.
A spate of incidents involving the sons of government and military officials racing their high powered cars, SUVs and motorbikes in Phnom Penh have taken place in recent months, with prosecutions rarely brought against the perpetrators.
“[These people] have abused the law,” Hun Sen said in a speech on Wednesday.
“They fly these motorbikes, and in some cases police remove a wheel from the motorbike [when they catch them] but parents arrive and order the police to put the wheel back on and apologize to them,” he said.
Hun Sen said he had been unaware of a number of the cases or he would have taken action already.
“If you had reported this to me, I would have removed [the parents] from their position immediately,” he said, speaking at a Ministry of Education national conference broadcast on Apsara radio.
“If I do not, I will resign,” he added.
Hun Sen also warned Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema to take firm action against the road racers.
“Governor Kep Chuktema, if you cannot control these children, you should not continue to be governor,” Hun Sen said, then asked: “Where are all the police officers?”
Kep Chuktema and Municipal Police Chief Touch Naruth could not be reached for comment Thursday.
SRP lawmaker Son Chhay said he does not believe Hun Sen would actually resign if the issue were not sorted out.
Son Chhay added that a recent incident involving the son of a well-known general was widely reported in the media, but the general was not removed from his position.
Ung Vanna, son of RCAF Lieutenant General and Commander of the Cambodian navy Ung Samkhan, was arrested Oct 24 but released a few hours later following a written promise from his parents that he would cease threatening journalists or racing his vehicle though the capital.
