A police officer who has been implicated in a fatal hit-and-run has been asked by local police in Kandal province to come to their office and negotiate a settlement for the victims’ families, police said Sunday.
Ek Sovannara—the son of Ek Krit, a former Kandal provincial police chief who is now an adviser to Interior Minister Sar Kheng—illegally fled the scene of the accident in Khsach Kandal district on April 11 in a Lexus SUV. One man died in the crash, and two others had to have their left legs amputated.
Khsach Kandal police said Sunday they have written to Mr. Sovannara inviting him to visit their office on Wednesday and enter into negotiations for compensation to the victims and their families. If the victims are happy with the settlement, the case will not be sent to court, district police chief Men Sokhoeun said.
“We sent a letter to Mr. Sovannara to invite him to solve the problem at our office on Wednesday to find justice for the victims,” he said.
Mr. Sokhoeun added that despite the invitation to negotiate, police were still perturbed that Mr. Sovannara appeared to have used his power to convince police at the scene of the accident to allow him and his friends to fix a flat tire on their SUV. When police let their guard down, the group sped away.
Mr. Sovannara, who is himself a police official in the Ministry of Interior’s immigration department, said Sunday that he would attend the meeting, but disavowed any responsibility for the accident.
“I have not yet received the letter from authorities but I will go to explain about the accident because I am not involved with the case,” he said, adding that he had only been at the scene of the hit-and-run because his friend had called him for help after they crashed.
He said he could not provide the name of his friend because they had only known each other for a short time, having met at a drinking party.
