A Siem Reap provincial lawyer has accused police officers of scribbling threatening messages on his car.
Phan Chan Sak, owner of the Siem Reap International Law office, said someone wrote on his car with an indelible marker while it was parked inside the provincial police compound on Saturday.
The lawyer left his car in the parking lot while meeting a client, who was answering questions concerning his involvement in a cheating scam.
“Don’t try to be a strong man in Siem Reap” was scrawled on the hood of the car, Phan Chan Sak said. A complaint lodged with the Cambodian Bar Association president calls the message a physical threat, and says it compromises the personal safety of a member of the law association.
Phan Chan Sak said he is considering lodging a complaint with the Siem Reap Provincial Court against a police officer, whom the lawyer says he suspects wrote the message in a fit of anger.
“I can conclude that the police did this,” Phan Chan Sak said. “They are angry with me for disturbing their interest.”
He said the vandalism took place while he wrangled with penal police officers over bail for his client’s release.
Another police officer recently warned that his law practice could be closed due to his perceived lack of cooperation with provincial police, Phan Chan Sak alleged.
Pheun Arun, bureau chief of the provincial police Minor Crimes Department, said Tuesday he was unaware of the incident and dismissed the allegation.
“Police would not scribble like that,” he said. “Maybe other people did it, because many students were here.”
Bar Association President Ky Tech said Tuesday that he had not seen the complaint and declined further comment.
