PM’s Nephew Arrested for Shooting Gun

Nhim Pov, the 19-year-old neph­ew of Prime Minister Hun Sen, was behind bars at Prey Sar prison Thursday after he allegedly shot his gun outside a crowded karaoke parlor, officials said.

Police arrested Nhim Pov, also known as Hun Pov, of Prampi Makara district, Phnom Penh, late Tuesday at Dara Rasme Karaoke Parlor, after he allegedly pulled out a 9mm handgun and shot into the air near Night Club Karaoke, police said.

Nhim Pov fired shots into the air on the street, and then fled into the Dara Rasmei parlor, police said.

Hun Sen was so furious with his nephew he ordered Phnom Penh Governor Chea Sophara personally to have Nhim Pov put in jail, police sources said.

The governor refused to comment on the case Thursday.

On Wednesday, Phnom Penh Municipal Court issued a warrant, and police sent Nhim Pov from Prampi Makara police station to Prey Sar prison as a “warning,” a police report stated.

Nhim Pov had been drinking heavily the night of the shooting, police said. He was angry with his parents because they said he was too young to marry his girlfriend, police said.

Tuesday’s incident was not the first time Nhim Pov has had a brush with the law. In December of 2000, police identified him as a suspect in an attack on Japanese tourists at a streetside food stall near the Holiday Night Club. The attack left three men wounded, two of them seriously, with stab wounds to the abdomen from a broken bottle, police said.

In August of 1999, police arrested Nhim Pov’s older brother, Nhim Pisey, after a shooting outside the Holiday Night Club which left two wounded. Nhim Pisey was held in municipal jail for a short time, then released.

Both men are the sons of Nhim Chandara, who serves as Cambodia’s ambassador to Burma.

It was unclear Thursday how long authorities would hold Nhim Pov, police said.

 

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