The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Two former Khmer Rouge officers have been arrested over their alleged role in the killing of a British mine clearance expert and his Cambodian interpreter 11 years ago, officials said Wednesday.
Ke Sakhan, a Phnom Penh Municipal Court investigating judge, said he charged Khem Ngun and Loch Mao on Tuesday with premeditated murder and illegal confinement of persons.
The judge said the men were charged in the death of Christopher Howes, a British mine clearance expert, and Huon Huot, his Cambodian interpreter, in 1996.
Khem Ngun defected to the government in 1998 and was awarded the rank of major general in the Cambodian army. Loch Mao became a local government official after leaving the Khmer Rouge, which collapsed in 1998.
Howes' 80-year-old father, Roy Howes, said he was pleased by the arrests, not only for himself and the interpreter's family, but also "for the people of Cambodia."
"These people have wrecked my family," he told The Associated Press from his home in Backwell, England. "We have never, ever recovered from this. The pain is permanently with us. "
Ke Sakhan said he ordered both suspects held in pretrial detention, which can last up to six months.
The maximum punishment for premeditated murder is 20 years in prison and for illegal confinement is 10 years.
Howes, of Bristol, England, and a group of his Cambodian co-workers were abducted in March 1996 by Khmer Rouge guerrillas while clearing mines in an isolated area about 17 kilometers (10 miles) north of the Angkor Wat temple, the country's most popular tourist destination.
Howes, who was 37 years old at the time, persuaded the guerrillas to free his colleagues while he and Huon Huot remained hostages for ransom.
Their fate was unknown until a team of detectives from Scotland Yard said about two years later that they had firm evidence the two had been taken to the Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng and killed soon after their abduction.
Witnesses said Khem Ngun had given the order to kill Howes.
However, the Cambodian government was unwilling to arrest him, apparently for fear of losing the trust of Khmer Rouge guerrillas who were then in the process of defecting.
Khem Ngun was taken from his home in Siem Reap province Monday, said Col. Prak Chanthoeun, the deputy commander of military police in the province.
He said police arrested Loch Mao at his home in Anlong Veng, where he has been serving as a deputy district chief.
The British Embassy in Phnom Penh welcomed the arrests and the progress made in "this long-standing case," spokesman Chantha Kim said in an e-mail.
Ke Sakhan, a Phnom Penh Municipal Court investigating judge, said he charged Khem Ngun and Loch Mao on Tuesday with premeditated murder and illegal confinement of persons.
The judge said the men were charged in the death of Christopher Howes, a British mine clearance expert, and Huon Huot, his Cambodian interpreter, in 1996.
Khem Ngun defected to the government in 1998 and was awarded the rank of major general in the Cambodian army. Loch Mao became a local government official after leaving the Khmer Rouge, which collapsed in 1998.
Howes' 80-year-old father, Roy Howes, said he was pleased by the arrests, not only for himself and the interpreter's family, but also "for the people of Cambodia."
"These people have wrecked my family," he told The Associated Press from his home in Backwell, England. "We have never, ever recovered from this. The pain is permanently with us. "
Ke Sakhan said he ordered both suspects held in pretrial detention, which can last up to six months.
The maximum punishment for premeditated murder is 20 years in prison and for illegal confinement is 10 years.
Howes, of Bristol, England, and a group of his Cambodian co-workers were abducted in March 1996 by Khmer Rouge guerrillas while clearing mines in an isolated area about 17 kilometers (10 miles) north of the Angkor Wat temple, the country's most popular tourist destination.
Howes, who was 37 years old at the time, persuaded the guerrillas to free his colleagues while he and Huon Huot remained hostages for ransom.
Their fate was unknown until a team of detectives from Scotland Yard said about two years later that they had firm evidence the two had been taken to the Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng and killed soon after their abduction.
Witnesses said Khem Ngun had given the order to kill Howes.
However, the Cambodian government was unwilling to arrest him, apparently for fear of losing the trust of Khmer Rouge guerrillas who were then in the process of defecting.
Khem Ngun was taken from his home in Siem Reap province Monday, said Col. Prak Chanthoeun, the deputy commander of military police in the province.
He said police arrested Loch Mao at his home in Anlong Veng, where he has been serving as a deputy district chief.
The British Embassy in Phnom Penh welcomed the arrests and the progress made in "this long-standing case," spokesman Chantha Kim said in an e-mail.
2 comments:
They have no place to hide; justice will serve the victims as time go on.
Khmer killed Khmer is on trial but those foreigners who killed Khmer is not on trial and this is such a shame! Shame on AH HUN SEN government! Shame on United Nation! Shame, shame, and nothing shame!
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