Kampot Provincial Court on Thursday charged seven men with theft for a string of recent armed robberies, including a member of a prominent youth group run by one of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s sons.
“All the suspects were charged with theft with aggravating circumstances and are in pretrial detention at the provincial court,” said Provincial Judge Hong Sokunvathana.
Deputy Toek Chhou district police chief Mao Chan Makthurith said the seven men had confessed to at least four robberies using an AK-47, and identified teacher Kuon Samnang, 35, as the ringleader.
Soon after the arrests, pictures of Mr. Samnang appeared on Facebook posing with Hun Many, the youngest son of Mr. Hun Sen and head of the ruling CPP-aligned Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia (UYFC).
Nuon Pharoth, a UYFC permanent member, confirmed that Mr. Samnang was a member of the group.
“It has a lot of members, so anyone who does something wrong, it is their personal responsibility,” he said.
