Saturday, November 04, 2006

Malaysian court postpones hearing on deportation of Cambodian ex-police chief

Heng Pov (Photo: RFA)

2006-11-03

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia's High Court postponed a hearing Friday to determine if a former Cambodian police chief wanted for murder in his country should be deported, his lawyer said.

N. Sivananthan, who was recently appointed as counsel to Heng Pov, said he met with his client for an hour Thursday but did not have enough time to get instructions for the case.

"The High Court has adjourned (the) hearing to Nov. 9 to give us more time to prepare for the case," he told The Associated Press.

He said the court also granted him unlimited access to Heng Pov, who is currently being held at the national police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur for breaching immigration rules.

Heng Pov "is looking well and in good spirits," Sivananthan added.

Heng Pov, 49, who was convicted in Cambodia in September for masterminding the assassination of a judge, was arrested earlier this month in Malaysia for overstaying his visa.

The Malaysian court had earlier extended a temporary suspension of a deportation order against Heng Pov until the case is concluded.

Malaysia and Cambodia have no extradition treaty.

Heng Pov has filed for asylum with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Kuala Lumpur after his diplomatic passport was canceled by the Cambodian government, Sivananthan said last month.

The lawyer also said Heng Pov also directly requested asylum or visas to enter "various countries" amid fears of being executed if he returned to Cambodia, but declined to give details.

In April 2003, two unidentified men on a motorcycle shot judge Sok Setha Mony in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. Heng Pov was tried in absentia in September, found guilty of masterminding the murder, and sentenced to 18 years in jail.

He also is accused of being linked to the killing of a Singaporean man in Cambodia, and failed murder attempts against a newspaper publisher, an electricity authority official and the national military police chief.

Heng Pov served as Phnom Penh's police chief until 2005, when he was promoted to become an adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen. He also served as undersecretary for the Interior Ministry.

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