Prime Minister Hun Sen has signed a sub-decree formally removing Kry Seang Long from his position at the Education Ministry following reports that he sexually assaulted his interpreter during an official visit to South Korea in May.
Dated July 7, the sub-decree “terminates Kry Seang Long…as director of the Vocational Orientation Department of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport” and names his replacement as Rath Sara, formerly a deputy director of the department.
Mr. Seang Long was arrested in Seoul on May 26 after representing Cambodia at the 2016 Asean+3 HRD Forum, South Korean police confirmed last month.
According to a letter from the Cambodian Embassy in Seoul, the Education Ministry paid more than $12,000 in fines and legal fees to secure his release from detention on June 8.
The ministry, however, did not publicly acknowledge the case until The Cambodia Daily published an article about Mr. Seang Long’s arrest nearly two weeks later.
In response to what the public described as a cover-up, the ministry announced that he had been stripped of his position and made to repay the money used to free him.
Colleagues previously said that Mr. Seang Long was taking a leave of absence but remained on the ministry’s payroll.
