All six of Pursat province’s district police chiefs, as well as one provincial deputy firefighter police chief, have been shuffled to new posts in the province, according to a prakas issued by the Interior Ministry on Jan 8 and obtained Monday.
The former chiefs in Bakan, Kandieng, Krakor, Phnom Kravanh, Veal Veng and Sampov Meas districts took their new officers Thursday, said deputy Pursat provincial police chief Soeun Sopheak.
“If they stay in one place too long, they may become involved in nepotism and corruption,” he said. “All in all, the reshuffling of police can provide different experiences for them.”
He predicted the reshuffling will create more efficiency, an exchange of ideas and better policing. Most district chiefs in the province have held their positions for 20 years, he said.
According to the prakas: Chhourn Rith, formerly provincial deputy firefighter police chief, is now police chief of Kandieng district; Pen Thong, formerly chief in Kandieng, is now police chief in Bakan district; Yuth Yoeun formerly Bakan police chief, is now a provincial deputy firefighter police chief; Len Song formerly Sampov Meas police chief, is now Krakor district police chief; and Ben Vanna, formerly Krakor chief, is now chief in Sampov Meas. Pich Sopheap, former Veal Veng district police chief, swapped positions with Puong Silei, former chief of Phnom Kravanh district, according to the prakas.
Interior Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak said the reshuffle occurred at the request of central government and provincial officials.
He declined to discuss the details of the request other than to say that change is not due to any wrongdoing.
He also said that there is no particular term limit for police chiefs.
Ban Vanna, who had been police chief for Krakor district since 1988 but is now chief of Sampov Meas, said he had no strong feelings about the shift.
“I cannot say the [new post] is better than the old post,” he said. “I feel the same about the new office because it is still the same work.”
