Saturday, December 23, 2006

Ex-Cambodian police chief begins 18-year jail term

23 Dec 2006
Rita Jong
New Straits Times (Malaysia)


KUALA LUMPUR: Former Cambodian police chief Heng Peo, who was in hiding in Malaysia for a couple of months and deported in a rush to Phnom Penh on Thursday, is now serving 18 years jail in Cambodia.

The 48-year-old was convicted in absentia by a Cambodian court on Sept 18 for conspiring in the murder of a municipal court judge in 2003.

According to sources in Phnom Penh, Heng Peo began serving the sentence moments after he arrived home when he was immediately brought before a judge.

"After a brief hearing, Heng Peo was escorted to the Prey Sar Prison, located at the outskirts of Phnom Penh," a source said.

Heng Peo was deported from Malaysia on a private plane an hour after the Court of Appeal here on Thursday dismissed the High Court’s decision on Dec 16 to send him to Singapore, his last point of embarkation.

While his counsel was filing an appeal against the decision at the Federal Court, Heng Peo was whisked away by the Immigration Department.

The speedy deportation irked judges at the Federal Court which was constituted immediately after the appeal was filed.

They even ticked off the prosecution for failing to advise the department to hold him pending his appeal.

Heng Peo had fled Cambodia in July for Singapore and then to Malaysia before he was detained in October for overstaying.

He had hoped to leave Malaysia for Finland which had offered him asylum earlier this month.

Yesterday, Amnesty International Malaysia condemned the manner Heng Peo was deported.

Its executive director Josef Roy Benedict said the Immigration Department, playing the role of a judge as well as enforcer, undermining the right to justice and due process.

"Every person has the right to equality before the court and to a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law."

He added that Heng Peo’s deportation was evident that the Immigration Department failed to respect the asylum process and disregarded international customary laws and principles.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

ONE DAY VIETNAMESE COMMUNIST THE MASTER OF THE HUN SEN DRUG DEALER AND THE ROYAL CROOK'S CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT WILL SWALLOW MALAYSIA SAM AS THEY SWALLOW CHAMPA(OLD MUSLIM COUNTRY) IN THE PAST.