By Yun Samean
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
Former Democratic Kampuchea Head of State Khieu Samphan did not flee Pailin and has not absconded ahead of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, his wife Sour Socheat said on Thursday.
Khieu Samphan, who some consider a likely suspect for prosecution by the ECCC, is currently in Battambang province visiting friends, Sour Socheat said, adding that her husband was tired of speaking to reporters who kept twisting the meaning of his words.
Reports of Khieu Samphan leaving Pailin on Sunday have led to several international news stories that strongly implied that the former Khmer Rouge leader might have taken flight.
"We often go visiting. Sometimes we go to Phnom Penh, Battambang and Anlong Veng," Sour Socheat said by telephone from Battambang, where she claimed she was staying with her husband.
"On this trip we don't know how long it will be before we go back to Pailin," she said.
Explaining the couple's departure from Pailin on Sunday night, a detail that news reports portrayed as highly suspicious, Sour Socheat said that the time they left home was chosen by the owner of the car who drove them.
"We don't have a car," she said. "We rode with the owner of the car, so when the owner of the car left we had to go too."
"He never escaped from reporters. [Khieu Samphan] wants to talk with reporters but since some reporters distorted his words, he has stopped liking them."
On Monday, Khieu Samphan's niece said that her uncle had gone to Anlong Veng in Oddar Meanchey province, where his son lives. On Thursday, Khieu Samphan's daughter, Khieu Ratana, also said that her father was in Battambang.
Oddar Meanchey provincial police chief Meng Ly said that reports that Khieu Samphan was in the province were hearsay.
"It was just a rumor," he added
Khieu Samphan, who some consider a likely suspect for prosecution by the ECCC, is currently in Battambang province visiting friends, Sour Socheat said, adding that her husband was tired of speaking to reporters who kept twisting the meaning of his words.
Reports of Khieu Samphan leaving Pailin on Sunday have led to several international news stories that strongly implied that the former Khmer Rouge leader might have taken flight.
"We often go visiting. Sometimes we go to Phnom Penh, Battambang and Anlong Veng," Sour Socheat said by telephone from Battambang, where she claimed she was staying with her husband.
"On this trip we don't know how long it will be before we go back to Pailin," she said.
Explaining the couple's departure from Pailin on Sunday night, a detail that news reports portrayed as highly suspicious, Sour Socheat said that the time they left home was chosen by the owner of the car who drove them.
"We don't have a car," she said. "We rode with the owner of the car, so when the owner of the car left we had to go too."
"He never escaped from reporters. [Khieu Samphan] wants to talk with reporters but since some reporters distorted his words, he has stopped liking them."
On Monday, Khieu Samphan's niece said that her uncle had gone to Anlong Veng in Oddar Meanchey province, where his son lives. On Thursday, Khieu Samphan's daughter, Khieu Ratana, also said that her father was in Battambang.
Oddar Meanchey provincial police chief Meng Ly said that reports that Khieu Samphan was in the province were hearsay.
"It was just a rumor," he added
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