Four Men Convicted of Trying To Sell Missiles
By Chhay Channyda
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
Four men, including a Ministry of Defense official, were sentenced to 18 months in prison for possession and transportation of anti-tank rocket launchers by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Thursday, officials said Sunday.
Chiv Keng, the court's director, said that RCAF Colonel Keo Savuth hired three men to help him sell two Armbrust anti-tank rocket launchers. Court officials said they did not know the intended recipients of the arms.
Matt Leh, 40, Ly Sok Meng, 63, and Lim Siek Usa, 35, were arrested in April following a raid on their rented house in Phnom Penh's Russei Keo district that turned up the two weapons. In addition to jail terms, the men were fined $250 each for their roles in the attempted sale, Chiv Keng said.
Keo Savuth, a Defense Ministry official whose whereabouts are currently unknown, was sentenced in absentia and fined $375.
Chhiv Theng, Matt Leh's lawyer, said by phone that his client confessed to the court that he intended to find a buyer for the arms on the promise of a $20,000 commission for each weapon sold. The Armbrusts were to be sold for $120,000 each, court officials said.
Defense Ministry officials could not be reached for comment Chhiv Theng and Koet Thy, the lawyers for Lim Siek Usa, said the subject of terrorism was not raised.
Interior Ministry counter-terrorism police who arrested Matt Leh, Ly Sok Meng and Lim Siek Usa in April, denied that the sale of the antitank weapons was tied to terrorism.
Sok Phal, deputy national police commissioner, referred questions about the case to Chhay Sinarith, director of the Interior Ministry's general information department, who could not be reached for comment.
Armbrusts, which are shoulder-fired anti-tank weapons originally developed in Germany, were supplied during the 1980s to the anti-Phnom Penh resistance on the Thai border, and some found their way into the hands of the Khmer Rouge.
(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Tomei)
Chiv Keng, the court's director, said that RCAF Colonel Keo Savuth hired three men to help him sell two Armbrust anti-tank rocket launchers. Court officials said they did not know the intended recipients of the arms.
Matt Leh, 40, Ly Sok Meng, 63, and Lim Siek Usa, 35, were arrested in April following a raid on their rented house in Phnom Penh's Russei Keo district that turned up the two weapons. In addition to jail terms, the men were fined $250 each for their roles in the attempted sale, Chiv Keng said.
Keo Savuth, a Defense Ministry official whose whereabouts are currently unknown, was sentenced in absentia and fined $375.
Chhiv Theng, Matt Leh's lawyer, said by phone that his client confessed to the court that he intended to find a buyer for the arms on the promise of a $20,000 commission for each weapon sold. The Armbrusts were to be sold for $120,000 each, court officials said.
Defense Ministry officials could not be reached for comment Chhiv Theng and Koet Thy, the lawyers for Lim Siek Usa, said the subject of terrorism was not raised.
Interior Ministry counter-terrorism police who arrested Matt Leh, Ly Sok Meng and Lim Siek Usa in April, denied that the sale of the antitank weapons was tied to terrorism.
Sok Phal, deputy national police commissioner, referred questions about the case to Chhay Sinarith, director of the Interior Ministry's general information department, who could not be reached for comment.
Armbrusts, which are shoulder-fired anti-tank weapons originally developed in Germany, were supplied during the 1980s to the anti-Phnom Penh resistance on the Thai border, and some found their way into the hands of the Khmer Rouge.
(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Tomei)
3 comments:
THEY ARREST THE WHOLE CPP AND PUT THEM PREY SAR, ESPECIALLY HUN SEN, SOK AN, HOK LUNDY.
KAUN NEAK SRE
HA! HA! HA! The Kangaroo court sentenced the three men for jail term. I could not belive it. Every time of which people faced jail are the poor, the Ministry official is on the loose. Keo Savuth is on the loose. The three men who were trying making the tip go to jail. Like you all know the generals are never go to jail,just you the lower class wil be put in jail.
Yeah, get a couple of them...for you know what! lol...
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