Six police officers were arrested this week for using fake license plates while driving in Phnom Penh, an official said Wednesday, marking the first batch of arrests since the Interior Ministry announced a clampdown on the unlawful use of police license plates in late September.
Run Rathveasna, director of the Interior Ministry’s public order department, said authorities detained two officers on Tuesday and another four Wednesday, confiscating their vehicles.
“We arrested the six police officials because they used fake police number plates,” Mr. Rathveasna said.
“The vehicle owners had real [police] number plates, but they were stolen and they did not request new ones to replace them.”
The crackdown was launched to stop drivers from using fake police plates as a way to disregard traffic rules or avoid paying taxes on legal plates.
According to Mr. Rathveasna, the officers were being detained Wednesday at the Pur Senchey district traffic police station, where they will be fined and warned before they are released, at which point their vehicles returned.
“In the case that they do not listen to us [in the future], we will send them to court,” he said.
