Prosecutor: Judge Clashed With Heng Pov the Day Before His Death
By Phann Ana
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
When he was in power, no one could say a word against him. But now that former Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Heng Pov has nosedived from grace and fled the country, his former colleagues have a lot to say about the man they are calling a ruthless killer.
At the top of the list of damning allegations is the story of a bold, three-year-old daylight hit on Municipal Judge Sok Sethamony. On April 23, 2003, two men on a red motorbike shot the judge to death as he drove to work on Sihanouk Boulevard in his car.
At the time, Prime Minister Hun Sen himself denounced the killers and pledged in a letter to Sok Sethamony's wife that her loss would "not be forgotten."
Ouk Savouth, chief prosecutor at the municipal court, claimed Thursday that Heng Pov ordered the killing as revenge after Sok Sethamony called on prosecutors to investigate him.
Sok Sethamony was enraged that Heng Pov had released a Chinese business associate the judge had sent to jail for allegedly embezzling $18 million that was supposed to pay for the development of Phnom Penh O'Russei market.
"It is very clear—like the rising sun," Ouk Savouth alleged. "The court is investigating this case."
Heng Pov has denied the allegations, blaming the outlawed, US-based Cambodian Freedom Fighters for the killing.
Heng Pov has also responded with a long list of allegations of his own.
But documents recently obtained appear to show that at the very least Sok Sethamony did call for an investigation of Heng Pov around the time he was gunned down in broad daylight.
The story begins in July 1999, when City Hall awarded Song Ky Construction Co an $11 million contract to construct a new building over O'Russei market.
The project soon went over budget, so owner Wu Pi Chi signed a joint-venture deal with another Chinese company to finish the job. Wu Pi Chi set up a joint bank account with new partners Wei Bing Qing and Xie Xiang Yung, owners of the Hui Seng company, to collect money from vendors operating in the market.
But rather than deposit the vendors' money into the account to help pay for the construction, Wei Bing Qing allegedly siphoned the money out through their personal accounts and transferred it to China, according to a report compiled by Sok Sethamony.
In the end, he and his associates allegedly bilked their partner and Cambodia out of more than $18 million, the late judge's report added.
The allegations prompted outraged calls from investigators. And Sok Sethamony was called in as investigative judge on the scandal.
He ordered that Wei Bing Qing be arrested for fraud on Sept 16, 2002, and detained in Prey Sar prison.
It was Heng Pov, then the municipality's powerful judiciary police chief, who allegedly released the Chinese businessman, for reasons that still have not been explained.
When Sok Sethamony found out, he went ballistic, accusing the penal police chief of obstructing the court and demanding that the government move against the renegade law enforcement official.
"Mr Heng Pov’s act," Sok Sethamony wrote in a scathing letter to Ouk Savouth and prosecutor-general Hanrot Raken, was an act of "anarchy" against the nation, rather than an act consistent with "a state of law."
"Please your excellency Prosecutor general, take action in accordance with the laws," the judge wrote in the letter.
Ouk Savouth says that the day the judge wrote the report, Sok Sethamony had a long dispute with Heng Pov over the telephone.
The computer typist who wrote the report and many court officials heard the nasty verbal exchange between the cop and the judge and much of what was said, Ouk Savouth says.
Sok Sethamony was murdered the very next day.
"He dropped the letter on my desk in the afternoon, a day before he was killed," Ouk Savouth says.
"Heng Pov threatened to kill him that same day. It is true. Every single court official knew it."
At the top of the list of damning allegations is the story of a bold, three-year-old daylight hit on Municipal Judge Sok Sethamony. On April 23, 2003, two men on a red motorbike shot the judge to death as he drove to work on Sihanouk Boulevard in his car.
At the time, Prime Minister Hun Sen himself denounced the killers and pledged in a letter to Sok Sethamony's wife that her loss would "not be forgotten."
Ouk Savouth, chief prosecutor at the municipal court, claimed Thursday that Heng Pov ordered the killing as revenge after Sok Sethamony called on prosecutors to investigate him.
Sok Sethamony was enraged that Heng Pov had released a Chinese business associate the judge had sent to jail for allegedly embezzling $18 million that was supposed to pay for the development of Phnom Penh O'Russei market.
"It is very clear—like the rising sun," Ouk Savouth alleged. "The court is investigating this case."
Heng Pov has denied the allegations, blaming the outlawed, US-based Cambodian Freedom Fighters for the killing.
Heng Pov has also responded with a long list of allegations of his own.
But documents recently obtained appear to show that at the very least Sok Sethamony did call for an investigation of Heng Pov around the time he was gunned down in broad daylight.
The story begins in July 1999, when City Hall awarded Song Ky Construction Co an $11 million contract to construct a new building over O'Russei market.
The project soon went over budget, so owner Wu Pi Chi signed a joint-venture deal with another Chinese company to finish the job. Wu Pi Chi set up a joint bank account with new partners Wei Bing Qing and Xie Xiang Yung, owners of the Hui Seng company, to collect money from vendors operating in the market.
But rather than deposit the vendors' money into the account to help pay for the construction, Wei Bing Qing allegedly siphoned the money out through their personal accounts and transferred it to China, according to a report compiled by Sok Sethamony.
In the end, he and his associates allegedly bilked their partner and Cambodia out of more than $18 million, the late judge's report added.
The allegations prompted outraged calls from investigators. And Sok Sethamony was called in as investigative judge on the scandal.
He ordered that Wei Bing Qing be arrested for fraud on Sept 16, 2002, and detained in Prey Sar prison.
It was Heng Pov, then the municipality's powerful judiciary police chief, who allegedly released the Chinese businessman, for reasons that still have not been explained.
When Sok Sethamony found out, he went ballistic, accusing the penal police chief of obstructing the court and demanding that the government move against the renegade law enforcement official.
"Mr Heng Pov’s act," Sok Sethamony wrote in a scathing letter to Ouk Savouth and prosecutor-general Hanrot Raken, was an act of "anarchy" against the nation, rather than an act consistent with "a state of law."
"Please your excellency Prosecutor general, take action in accordance with the laws," the judge wrote in the letter.
Ouk Savouth says that the day the judge wrote the report, Sok Sethamony had a long dispute with Heng Pov over the telephone.
The computer typist who wrote the report and many court officials heard the nasty verbal exchange between the cop and the judge and much of what was said, Ouk Savouth says.
Sok Sethamony was murdered the very next day.
"He dropped the letter on my desk in the afternoon, a day before he was killed," Ouk Savouth says.
"Heng Pov threatened to kill him that same day. It is true. Every single court official knew it."
3 comments:
Ouk Savuth is coward or accomplice too.Why didn't he act accordingly then as he said every single court official knew about it?
What and who gagged him then? Smell fishy liked Bazaar Aur Ruusei on his version.
Who let the damn dogs out before cry out loud the damn dogs ran wildly.
Typically,Hun Sen scheme, isn't it?
Of course Heng Pov never mentioned it in his 9 pages declaration! Evil vs devil, they are no different....
Soh Ya;I think that the Cambodia is the unlawful country because of some people, especially, high ranging officials. I beleive Ouk Savuth is a hun sen' man too like heng pov. Some ridiculous Amendments have often established by hun sen not by National Assembly. For example, recently, it was monogamy law established because hun sen wanted to remove a kook and block-head, ranaridh.
Post a Comment