Heng Pov during his heyday as a high ranking CPP police commissioner. Recent revelations made by Heng Pov seem to indicate that high ranking CPP government officials and their associates are involved in drug dealing, in addition to being accused of well-known corruption. (Photo: Koh Santepheap newspaper)Wednesday, August 9, 2006
Heng Pov Is No Threat to Gov't: CPP Lawmaker
By Phann Ana and Douglas Gillison
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
A senior CPP lawmaker has dismissed claims by Heng Pov that he has information about corruption and murder at the top levels of government, and accused the disgraced police chief of helping drug dealers during his tenure.
Parliamentarian Cheam Yeap said the allegations made Monday by the fugitive former Phnom Penh police commissioner and adviser to the prime minister are simply not credible, and do not pose a threat to the stability of the government.
"Heng Pov knew about heroin smuggling. He used to facilitate the smugglers when he was in power," Cheam Yeap alleged.
"If [Heng Pov] is a real lover of the nation, he should come back home and provide evidence to prove his allegations," he said.
Heng Pov, who he described as a "dead-ender," should have no fear of assassination if he returned to Cambodia, as he has reportedly claimed could happen, Cheam Yeap said.
Heng Pov will also have difficulty criminalizing the Cambodian government and the ruling CPP, Cheam Yeap added.
"He's like an egg pitted against a rock," said Cheam Yeap.
Cheam Yeap said that Heng Pov had fled prosecution for a host of serious crimes and only sought political asylum after the warrant for his arrest was announced. This, he said, undermines Heng Pov's case for asylum.
"If he had claimed as soon as he arrived, before the court warrant was issued, it would be possible [for him] to be considered an asylum case but his claim was too late and cannot be acceptable," he said.
Heng Pov told reporters Monday that he had fled Cambodia in fear of his life and had knowledge of high-level corruption, assassinations of dissidents and drug trafficking among businessmen with links to the prime minister's office.
Heng Pov slipped out of the country on July 23, a week before authorities announced a warrant for his arrest in connection with the 2003 murder of Municipal Court Judge Sok Sethamony, who was shot by gunmen in his car, and three other attempted assassinations.
Australian press reports said Monday that Heng Pov had tried to apply for political asylum at the Australian High Commission in Singapore but had been referred to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Interior Ministry Penal Police Chief Mok Chito, a longtime rival of Heng Pov's, said he visited the Phnom Penh offices of UNHCR on Monday morning to share the contents of the arrest warrant as well as the Interpol "red notice" issued on Friday for the fugitive officer.
"If they cannot believe a Cambodian court arrest warrant because it is a domestic [document], then they should believe Interpol's red notice," Mok Chito said, adding that it was up to the UN to decide whether to accept Heng Pov's asylum claim.
UNHCR protection officer Inge Sturkenboom confirmed that the office was visited by Cambodian law enforcement authorities about Heng Pov. "They didn't ask us not to grant asylum," she said.
Criminal accusations, such as those made against Heng Pov, do not rule out a person being granted asylum, Sturkenboom said. "[A] person accused of these or other non-political crimes, whether innocent or guilty, and who may also be prosecuted for political or other reasons, is not necessarily excluded from refugee status," she wrote in an email.
The laws of host countries determine who is eligible for political asylum, she said.
Mok Chito claimed that Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has refused to consider Heng Pov's request for asylum, despite a plea for assistance from his Australian lawyer, David Chen.
"Alexander Downer's denial is a strong message to other countries," Mok Chito said. "It proves that if other countries cannot believe us, they can believe Australia."
Downer told Agence France-Presse on Monday that he would not examine the case any further than the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs had already done.
A spokesman for the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh on Tuesday declined to say whether Downer's statement constituted a refusal to grant asylum to Heng Pov.
"As a matter of policy we do not confirm or deny that an application for a visa is made at any particular post," said Guy Ruediger, first secretary at the embassy.
"All applications for visas are considered on their merits," he said.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak declined to say whether Cambodian authorities were confident that they knew where Heng Pov was. "I can say that Cambodian police are happy with the positive response of the police in Singapore," he said.
Heng Pov cannot blackmail the government by threatening to air its secrets in return for his freedom, Khieu Sopheak said. "According to the law, Heng Pov is still a suspect," he said.
As an example of the incriminating information he claims to possess, Heng Pov told Australian media that he accepted a four-wheel drive vehicle in return for not pursuing the seizure of a 7-ton cache of marijuana seized from a company belonging to an unidentified friend of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Heng Pov told reporters in 1997 that police had seized a 7-ton shipment of the drug, which had an outdated export license issued to a company belonging to commodities tycoon Mong Reththy, who was cleared of any links to the consignment at the time.
Mong Rotha, Mong Reththy's son and a senior official at the Mong Reththy Group, said Tuesday that his father's company had done nothing wrong and that perhaps Heng Pov was referring to someone else.
"I don't know which company he's referring to. We did not do anything wrong," he said. "If oknha [Mong Reththy] had done such things, he would not be able to save his face to this day. Then foreign companies [would] not join in ventures with him."
Tony Kevin, Australian ambassador to Cambodia from 1994 to 1997 and a well-known supporter of the CPP, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he was leaning heavily in favor of the government and not Heng Pov.
"I think if one was looking at the relative credibility of what is after all a sovereign government recognized by Australia, with which we have normal diplomatic dealings, and the credibility of a malcontent police officer who has decided for whatever reason to blow the whistle, I tend, unless given strong evidence to the contrary, to believe the government rather than the man," he said.
A foreign diplomat in Phnom Penh said on condition of anonymity that the allegations and counter-allegations make the case difficult for foreign countries to interpret.
It is too early to say whether Heng Pov's charges could destabilize the government or complicate international cooperation with Cambodia, he added.
"It's hard to tell fact from fiction," the diplomat said.
'To be honest, it is interesting that someone like him does have so much money in his account," he said.
The Interior Ministry announced last week that a bank account containing $1 million in Heng Pov's name had been frozen.
Parliamentarian Cheam Yeap said the allegations made Monday by the fugitive former Phnom Penh police commissioner and adviser to the prime minister are simply not credible, and do not pose a threat to the stability of the government.
"Heng Pov knew about heroin smuggling. He used to facilitate the smugglers when he was in power," Cheam Yeap alleged.
"If [Heng Pov] is a real lover of the nation, he should come back home and provide evidence to prove his allegations," he said.
Heng Pov, who he described as a "dead-ender," should have no fear of assassination if he returned to Cambodia, as he has reportedly claimed could happen, Cheam Yeap said.
Heng Pov will also have difficulty criminalizing the Cambodian government and the ruling CPP, Cheam Yeap added.
"He's like an egg pitted against a rock," said Cheam Yeap.
Cheam Yeap said that Heng Pov had fled prosecution for a host of serious crimes and only sought political asylum after the warrant for his arrest was announced. This, he said, undermines Heng Pov's case for asylum.
"If he had claimed as soon as he arrived, before the court warrant was issued, it would be possible [for him] to be considered an asylum case but his claim was too late and cannot be acceptable," he said.
Heng Pov told reporters Monday that he had fled Cambodia in fear of his life and had knowledge of high-level corruption, assassinations of dissidents and drug trafficking among businessmen with links to the prime minister's office.
Heng Pov slipped out of the country on July 23, a week before authorities announced a warrant for his arrest in connection with the 2003 murder of Municipal Court Judge Sok Sethamony, who was shot by gunmen in his car, and three other attempted assassinations.
Australian press reports said Monday that Heng Pov had tried to apply for political asylum at the Australian High Commission in Singapore but had been referred to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Interior Ministry Penal Police Chief Mok Chito, a longtime rival of Heng Pov's, said he visited the Phnom Penh offices of UNHCR on Monday morning to share the contents of the arrest warrant as well as the Interpol "red notice" issued on Friday for the fugitive officer.
"If they cannot believe a Cambodian court arrest warrant because it is a domestic [document], then they should believe Interpol's red notice," Mok Chito said, adding that it was up to the UN to decide whether to accept Heng Pov's asylum claim.
UNHCR protection officer Inge Sturkenboom confirmed that the office was visited by Cambodian law enforcement authorities about Heng Pov. "They didn't ask us not to grant asylum," she said.
Criminal accusations, such as those made against Heng Pov, do not rule out a person being granted asylum, Sturkenboom said. "[A] person accused of these or other non-political crimes, whether innocent or guilty, and who may also be prosecuted for political or other reasons, is not necessarily excluded from refugee status," she wrote in an email.
The laws of host countries determine who is eligible for political asylum, she said.
Mok Chito claimed that Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has refused to consider Heng Pov's request for asylum, despite a plea for assistance from his Australian lawyer, David Chen.
"Alexander Downer's denial is a strong message to other countries," Mok Chito said. "It proves that if other countries cannot believe us, they can believe Australia."
Downer told Agence France-Presse on Monday that he would not examine the case any further than the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs had already done.
A spokesman for the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh on Tuesday declined to say whether Downer's statement constituted a refusal to grant asylum to Heng Pov.
"As a matter of policy we do not confirm or deny that an application for a visa is made at any particular post," said Guy Ruediger, first secretary at the embassy.
"All applications for visas are considered on their merits," he said.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak declined to say whether Cambodian authorities were confident that they knew where Heng Pov was. "I can say that Cambodian police are happy with the positive response of the police in Singapore," he said.
Heng Pov cannot blackmail the government by threatening to air its secrets in return for his freedom, Khieu Sopheak said. "According to the law, Heng Pov is still a suspect," he said.
As an example of the incriminating information he claims to possess, Heng Pov told Australian media that he accepted a four-wheel drive vehicle in return for not pursuing the seizure of a 7-ton cache of marijuana seized from a company belonging to an unidentified friend of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Heng Pov told reporters in 1997 that police had seized a 7-ton shipment of the drug, which had an outdated export license issued to a company belonging to commodities tycoon Mong Reththy, who was cleared of any links to the consignment at the time.
Mong Rotha, Mong Reththy's son and a senior official at the Mong Reththy Group, said Tuesday that his father's company had done nothing wrong and that perhaps Heng Pov was referring to someone else.
"I don't know which company he's referring to. We did not do anything wrong," he said. "If oknha [Mong Reththy] had done such things, he would not be able to save his face to this day. Then foreign companies [would] not join in ventures with him."
Tony Kevin, Australian ambassador to Cambodia from 1994 to 1997 and a well-known supporter of the CPP, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he was leaning heavily in favor of the government and not Heng Pov.
"I think if one was looking at the relative credibility of what is after all a sovereign government recognized by Australia, with which we have normal diplomatic dealings, and the credibility of a malcontent police officer who has decided for whatever reason to blow the whistle, I tend, unless given strong evidence to the contrary, to believe the government rather than the man," he said.
A foreign diplomat in Phnom Penh said on condition of anonymity that the allegations and counter-allegations make the case difficult for foreign countries to interpret.
It is too early to say whether Heng Pov's charges could destabilize the government or complicate international cooperation with Cambodia, he added.
"It's hard to tell fact from fiction," the diplomat said.
'To be honest, it is interesting that someone like him does have so much money in his account," he said.
The Interior Ministry announced last week that a bank account containing $1 million in Heng Pov's name had been frozen.
9 comments:
Heng Poeu belongs to the Criminal Clan "3H" : Heng Poeu - Hun Sen - Hok Lundy
http://khmer.cc/community/f.c?b=17
http://khmer.cc/community/t.c?b=17&t=552
I suggest all foreign governments must check Cheam yeap family member to make sure that they cannot slip through to foreign country because he must have a good dealt with Mong Rithy. Everyone know that the 1997 coup was from Drugs to political. Ho Sok want to arrest Mong Rithy for drugs smuggled to Australia. Hun Sen has turned this Drugs problem into political problem.
Just wondering, why Chito always mentioned, if foreigne counrties does not believe us, they should beleive Interpol or Australia? may be they have tolk so many things not true..... i only guess....
Hi Exellency Kevin, you been to cambodia for sometime too, you should know that the government of Cambodia is also a man not a whole cambodia, a man is " HUN SEN" if hun sen say it is on the right, the nation is all on the right.....any objectio? same result as Heng POV.
To Mr. Tony Kevin,
They all bad three stooges, HUN SEN, HOK LUNDY, and HENG POV. Statistically, think about how much tremendous wealth all of them possessed by comparing their salaries, commission, tips, and allowances plus their own honest business. Unforunately, it comes to the time when one of them decided to try a different way, then the conflict started and things begin to surface. Remember this, each group or party even the country always has a break away discontent member(s). The only different is HUN SEN and Hok LUNDY are Cambodian heavyweight tittle, any thing negatively happen to them, especially HUN SEN will surely lead to unstability of entire Cambodia. The current situation in Cambodia is stable but not ideal. the complexity of atmosphere will require delicate balance acts for choosing one of three bad apples. Literally, Heng Pov now stands as an individual whereas HUN and HOK are having Cambodia as awhole. There will be a time but that is remain to be seen. Finally, to any Cambodian politician, when this situation come to you and your family, I bet 100%, you will surely run away from Cambodia, too. So watch your comment, your words will come to hunt you later on, BAD BOYS. Cambodia history about her leaders has been already repeated so many times.
AH CHEAM YAP is a Vietcong trained economist and Shouldn't this bastard focus on Cambodian economy than on AH HENG POV? Unless this bastard has something to hide! Well! hide no more and the world is closing on Heng Pov.
Cheam Yeap must have a shareholding with Mong rithy that is why he has ignored about drugs shipment to Australia by Mong Rithy in 1997 which Hun Sen has turned it into coup d'etat to save Mong rithy and Thai Bunrong from international communities to arrest their two animal friends.
Heng Pov is far better than ah Mok Chito. THese two have clashed each other because Mok Chito have harvested all criminals with him. Heng Pov has been known to have destroyed criminals harvested by Mok Chito and Hok Lundy. Heng Pov has been working a longtime with Sar Kheng to clean up criminals in Phnom Penh but have killed so many of Hok Lundy'friends. Therefore Hok Lundy is very angry and now he has Hun Sen backing him up. Hun Sen has no choice to back up Hok Lundy otherwise without Hok Lundy, Sar Kheng will kick Hun Sen out from premiership for 2008 election. These two men are struggling each other for premiership for longtime. Now Sar Kheng is very quiet because he has lost his right hand already. If he dare to open his mouth , he will be in jail very soon.
For those reading these comments that have the ability to make an impact in this case please realize that all these comments that are made by the general public are all in OPPOSITION to Hun Sen and his political party. There are times when you have to separate facts from fictions. However, if a rumor is rampant such as these, accusing Hun Sen of corruption and criminal acts, they MUST HOLD SOME TRUTH to them. It is very vividly clear and apparant that the existing Cambodian government is corrupted and has robbed the quality of life and wealth from many innocent bystanders. Why is it that these acts of injustice in Cambodia continue to elevate? Why is it that no one hear Cambodia's cry for help? Is it because we don't have oil or NOT conducting nuclear testing? Perhaps these are the reasons. Nearly 30 years ago, the world stood aside and went about their lives without knowing that a genocide was occuring in Cambodia and till this day, not everyone is informed of the Cambodian Holocaust like they are of the Jewish Holocaust. We are living in a globalized world and connected through many differnt means of communication. Please help bring Cambodia to justice by helping Heng Pov live to tell his story. Heng Pov maybe just as guilty as Hun Sen and Hok Lundy, but he is willing to speak out NOW. Please give him the opportunity to do so in a safe, secure, & JUSTIFIED court of law. NOT IN CAMBODIA=NOT SAFE FOR ANYONE WHO IS WILLING TO RAT OUT THE CORRUPTED GOVERNMENT. If Heng Pov is killed it maybe years or decades of continuous injustice and acts of criminal imposed on the Khmer citizens. We cannot afford to gamble on the possibility that another close source will ever step up to the plate again. Please DO NOT LET HUN SEN and his inhumane politcal party set a precedent in Cambodia that no one can speak up against him. More importantly, CAMBODIA should never be a war-stricken country that will relive that vicious, cycle of another genocide. The dusted memories from the Pol Pot regime have not completely blown away. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP US!
FOR NOW SAFE HIM FROM HUN SEN'S KLAN TILL ALL THE TRUE MASTERMIND IS CAPTURED.....THERE ARE MOORE POWERFUL KLAN MEMBERS BEHIND ALL OF HENG PEO'S CRIMES....
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