Police Chief Guarantees Jobs for Whistleblowers

Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Heng Pov on Tuesday pro­m­ised to reward students who re­port crimes with a po­lice officer’s title and a salary equal to that of a commune police official.

After graduating from university, students who have taken part in the crime-reporting campaign would be automatically selected as po­­lice officials, or receive help in their applications for civil servant jobs, Heng Pov said.

“You report twice, I will list his or her name directly as police official that can get a salary equal to a commune police official,” Heng Pov told more than 600 students at Preah Sisowath High School during a meeting on combating drug use and improving road safety.

“I want to train all of you to be­come police…and I believe strongly that some students can work harder and more cleverly than current police officials,” he added.

In their first lesson in law en­forcement, Heng Pov told the students to look out for jobless people who change motorcycles frequently or people who buy and sell motorbikes at night. Such ac­tivities were the signs of possible robbers, he said.

Heng Pov also called for students to avoid drug use, noting that 85 percent to 90 percent of drug users be­came addicts after friends slipped drugs into their drinks. He also said dealers are willing to give drugs initially without charge to get people hooked.

“Today they give you a cigarette with drugs,” he said. “Then a second cigarette they will also provide for you…but you have to buy the third cigarette with drugs.”

Lun Dalish, 14, a student at Preah Sisowath High School, said she wanted to sign up as a schoolyard police official, adding that 70 percent of school students, mostly from rich families, use drugs.

“I want to be a police official to help those drug addicts,” she said.

 

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