Saturday, November 11, 2006

Legal Question Buys Time For Heng Pov

Saturday and Sunday, November 11-12, 2006

By Douglas Gillison
THE CAMBODIA DAILY


Unexplained bureaucratic irregularities have forced the Malaysian government to seek a two-week adjournment in the immigration hearing for former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov, a lawyer for the fugitive said Friday. After two delays, the court had been scheduled on Thursday to hear Heng Pov's argument against being deported back to Cambodia after he was found to have overstayed his entry pass to Malaysia. Heng Pov's lawyer, N Sivananthan, said on Friday that he had submitted an affidavit to the court on Thursday which showed that Malaysian Immigration authorities had made procedural errors in detaining Heng Pov. The Malaysian Immigration Department failed to disclose that they had issued two orders for Heng Pov's detention and two orders for his removal from the country, all of which were dated the same day, Sivananthan said. There should have been only one copy of each document he said. Habeas corpus release can be granted if procedural irregularities are proven in Heng Pov's detention, Sivananthan said. Heng Pov is wanted m Cambodia for the murder of a judge. He has denied the charge and accused senior government officials of criminality.

No comments: