Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to expose a prominent opposition party member Wednesday, who he claimed had acted as a spy for him in the past and continues to do so.
He said that the person, whom he did not name, had criticized the government over gasoline prices and the appointment of his son, Hun Manet, as head of a new commission charged with distributing school scholarships to poor students.
“If it is necessary, we will destroy the target before the elections,” Hun Sen said. “Be careful,” he warned, “I have VCDs and documents in my hands to show that you took my money to work for me as a spy,” he said.
“I won the quick war [the 1997 factional fighting] partly because of the information this man gave to me,” he added.
SRP lawmaker Son Chhay, who commented Tuesday on Hun Manet’s new appointment, said he believed Hun Sen was referring to him in his speech.
In December 2006, Son Chhay also denied similar spying accusations by Hun Sen.
“I was never a spy for Hun Sen,” Son Chhay said. “Let the public judge my comments [on Hun Manet and gasoline prices],” he said, adding that the latest threat from Hun Sen was unsurprising.
“This is nothing new,” Son Chhay said, adding that Hun Sen may still be smarting after the criticism of the government from UN special envoy for human rights Yash Ghai last week.
“The prime minister should learn to accept criticism. Criticism is good for the country’s development,” he added.
Last year, Hun Sen claimed that he had given Son Chhay $10,000 to spy for him.
Son Chhay admitted that he had taken $10,000 from the CPP-led government in the months following the 1997 fighting, but claimed it was compensation that all parliamentarians had received at that time.
SRP Secretary-General Eng Chhay Eang said Hun Sen was trying to damage the party’s unity.
“[Son Chhay] is an outstanding member of the SRP,” he said.
