Heng Pov and his alleged second wife (Photo: Koh Santepheap)For the original article by L'Express,
Click here to read the original French version
Click here to read the unofficial English translation
Click here to read the original French version
Click here to read the unofficial English translation
By Douglas Gillison and Lor Chandara
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
France's largest-circulation weekly newsmagazine L’Express published an interview Thursday with former Phnom Penh police Chief Heng Pov in which the fugitive officer reiterated his shocking allegations of criminality against senior government leaders.
In the interview, Heng Pov levels serious allegations against Prime Minister Hun Sen, National Police Commissioner Hok Lundy, National Military Police Commander Sao Sokha, Interior Ministry Penal Police Chief Mok Chito, the deputy commander of Hun Sen's bodyguard unit, Huy Piseth, and others.
In the 1,900-word French-Language interview, a copy of which was obtained from L'Express Web site, the fugitive police officer, who was until his recent fall from grace an adviser to Hun Sen, alleges to know, and names, those who he claims perpetrated some of the country's most heinous recent crimes.
The breadth of the allegations is staggering. They include drug trafficking, grenade attacks, including the 1997 blasts that killed at least 17 people, the shooting of Interior Ministry official Ho Sok and the slaying of singer Piseth Peaklika.
The French-language interview repeats in detail charges made in a nine-page statement attributed to Heng Pov, which was obtained earlier this week.
In his ongoing public campaign, Heng Pov claims in the interview that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were framed for the 2004 murder of Cambodia's leading trade unionist, Chea Vichea. The men were sentenced to 20 years in prison in August 2005 in a highly controversial trial, much of which was built on the police investigation headed by Heng Pov.
Government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith, Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak, Hun Sen's human rights adviser Om Yen-tieng and Hok Lundy could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts Thursday.
However, outspoken CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said Heng Pov was making his allegations out of desperation.
"He is about to drown because his boat sank in the middle of a river so he's calling for asylum," said Cheam Yeap, who has previously accused the former police chief of helping heroin smugglers.
"If he knew all this when he was in power, why didn't he tell the public then? Why now?
"This is his last breath. If he is a patriot, he should come back and face the court," Cheam Yeap said.
"Here there is a lot of protection, such as NGOs, human rights and international organizations, the US Embassy, and so on," he added.
In the interview, Heng Pov is also quoted as saying that no serious investigation was ever carried out into the murder of Chea Vichea.
Heng Pov alleges in the interview that several days after Chea Vichea's killing, Hok Lundy informed him that the perpetrators had been arrested solely on the basis of an accusation made to police. "It did not take long for me to understand that the two suspects, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, had nothing to do with the murder," Heng Pov is quoted as saying by L'Express.
Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, who is also a lawyer for the men convicted of Chea Vichca's murder, said he planned to call for a dismissal of the case based on Heng Pov's claims.
"He is the one who conducted the investigation. And now he's confessed. All statements, all confessions cannot be admissible," Sok Sam Oeun said.
"I plan to ask our lawyer to submit another motion to dismiss based on these statements," he said, adding that he hoped the motion could be filed by next week.
The magazine article makes no mention of how or where the interview was conducted with Heng Pov, who left Cambodia for Singapore just days before a warrant was issued accusing him of murdering a judge, and before police accused him of a host of other crimes.
Keo Vanthan, first deputy director of the Interpol office in Phnom Penh, said Thursday that he still believes Heng Pov is in Singapore, as officials have maintained since the start of this month.
Heng Pov is quoted in the interview as saying he fears being deported back to Cambodia.
"If I am arrested and sent back to Cambodia, I’ll have sold my life cheaply," he said.
"As for the accusations against me, I am ready to answer them in court on condition that this is neither in Cambodia nor in Vietnam. There is no justice there. I surely closed my eyes more than once to the corruption against which Hun Sen claims to be fighting.'" Heng Pov is quoted as saying.
"The prime minister is playing a game that is dangerous for the country. I am convinced there will be no democracy in Cambodia so long as the opposition parties are unable to unite against the power in place." he adds.
Thursday's publication marks the second time L'Express has published accusations against senior Cambodian officials.
In October 1999, it printed accusations linking officials to the death of Piseth Peaklica. The prime minister's office issued a strong statement at the time denying the report and stated that the government would sue the publication in both Paris and Phnom Penh. It was unclear Thursday whether a lawsuit was filed.
Government officials at the time also claimed a political motive behind the allegations, pointing out that a relative of Sam Rainsy, leader of the party bearing his name, worked at L'Express in France.
In the interview, Heng Pov levels serious allegations against Prime Minister Hun Sen, National Police Commissioner Hok Lundy, National Military Police Commander Sao Sokha, Interior Ministry Penal Police Chief Mok Chito, the deputy commander of Hun Sen's bodyguard unit, Huy Piseth, and others.
In the 1,900-word French-Language interview, a copy of which was obtained from L'Express Web site, the fugitive police officer, who was until his recent fall from grace an adviser to Hun Sen, alleges to know, and names, those who he claims perpetrated some of the country's most heinous recent crimes.
The breadth of the allegations is staggering. They include drug trafficking, grenade attacks, including the 1997 blasts that killed at least 17 people, the shooting of Interior Ministry official Ho Sok and the slaying of singer Piseth Peaklika.
The French-language interview repeats in detail charges made in a nine-page statement attributed to Heng Pov, which was obtained earlier this week.
In his ongoing public campaign, Heng Pov claims in the interview that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were framed for the 2004 murder of Cambodia's leading trade unionist, Chea Vichea. The men were sentenced to 20 years in prison in August 2005 in a highly controversial trial, much of which was built on the police investigation headed by Heng Pov.
Government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith, Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak, Hun Sen's human rights adviser Om Yen-tieng and Hok Lundy could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts Thursday.
However, outspoken CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said Heng Pov was making his allegations out of desperation.
"He is about to drown because his boat sank in the middle of a river so he's calling for asylum," said Cheam Yeap, who has previously accused the former police chief of helping heroin smugglers.
"If he knew all this when he was in power, why didn't he tell the public then? Why now?
"This is his last breath. If he is a patriot, he should come back and face the court," Cheam Yeap said.
"Here there is a lot of protection, such as NGOs, human rights and international organizations, the US Embassy, and so on," he added.
In the interview, Heng Pov is also quoted as saying that no serious investigation was ever carried out into the murder of Chea Vichea.
Heng Pov alleges in the interview that several days after Chea Vichea's killing, Hok Lundy informed him that the perpetrators had been arrested solely on the basis of an accusation made to police. "It did not take long for me to understand that the two suspects, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, had nothing to do with the murder," Heng Pov is quoted as saying by L'Express.
Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, who is also a lawyer for the men convicted of Chea Vichca's murder, said he planned to call for a dismissal of the case based on Heng Pov's claims.
"He is the one who conducted the investigation. And now he's confessed. All statements, all confessions cannot be admissible," Sok Sam Oeun said.
"I plan to ask our lawyer to submit another motion to dismiss based on these statements," he said, adding that he hoped the motion could be filed by next week.
The magazine article makes no mention of how or where the interview was conducted with Heng Pov, who left Cambodia for Singapore just days before a warrant was issued accusing him of murdering a judge, and before police accused him of a host of other crimes.
Keo Vanthan, first deputy director of the Interpol office in Phnom Penh, said Thursday that he still believes Heng Pov is in Singapore, as officials have maintained since the start of this month.
Heng Pov is quoted in the interview as saying he fears being deported back to Cambodia.
"If I am arrested and sent back to Cambodia, I’ll have sold my life cheaply," he said.
"As for the accusations against me, I am ready to answer them in court on condition that this is neither in Cambodia nor in Vietnam. There is no justice there. I surely closed my eyes more than once to the corruption against which Hun Sen claims to be fighting.'" Heng Pov is quoted as saying.
"The prime minister is playing a game that is dangerous for the country. I am convinced there will be no democracy in Cambodia so long as the opposition parties are unable to unite against the power in place." he adds.
Thursday's publication marks the second time L'Express has published accusations against senior Cambodian officials.
In October 1999, it printed accusations linking officials to the death of Piseth Peaklica. The prime minister's office issued a strong statement at the time denying the report and stated that the government would sue the publication in both Paris and Phnom Penh. It was unclear Thursday whether a lawsuit was filed.
Government officials at the time also claimed a political motive behind the allegations, pointing out that a relative of Sam Rainsy, leader of the party bearing his name, worked at L'Express in France.
10 comments:
The final truth is comming.
Even the bad guy like Heng Pov said "I am convinced there will be no democracy in Cambodia so long as the opposition parties are unable to unite against the power in place."
All Khmer people who love democracy please join hand in hand. Sam Rainsy, Kem Sokha, and other democracy parties or groups please wake up and join hand together to pull down ah Hun Sen's regim.
Internatinal already lost Ta Mok the key witness of the Khmer Rouge's crime. And now they may lose Hen Pov who is the key witness of Hun Sen and Hok Lundy's crime if the international do not help save this man.
In my whole life I never like Hok lundy or Hun sen at all because they are viet cong....
Since I was fully grown up, I have seen alot of corruptions, crimes, human trafficking, heroin and many unjustics in Cambodia under the communist regime HUN SEN. I myself was also demanded money US$ 60 when I wanted my degree and transcript stapmed my MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIR.
Indeed, nearly all of government officail under communist HUN SEN are corrupt, begining from elementary school teacher to the country leaders such as HUN SEN, HOK LONDY, SOK ANN, SAO SOKHA, and their companions.
WHY CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT DOESN'T PASS THE CORRUPTION LAW? Because nearly all of the parlimentarians of HUN SEN's communist party and useless Funcinpech Party are corrupt and they worry that they make the laws to put them in jail. Therefore, they just want to do something useless and never care to pass the CORRUPTION LAW.
Moreover, Hun Sen, Ranarith, HOK LONDY, SOK ANN, OUM YENTEANG, SAO SOKHA, and other top leaders in Cambodia are corrupt, they just make money US$ under table and never want to develop the country. HOW CAN THEY PUSS THE PARLIMENTARY TO PASS THE CORRUPTION LAW?
It is a pity to poor innocent Cambodian people, who are living under democray system of Cambodia, but communist society of HUN SEN's communist power.
Since I was fully grown up, I have seen alot of corruptions, crimes, human trafficking, heroin and many unjustics in Cambodia under the communist regime HUN SEN. I myself was also demanded money US$ 60 when I wanted my degree and transcript stapmed my MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIR.
Indeed, nearly all of government officail under communist HUN SEN are corrupt, begining from elementary school teacher to the country leaders such as HUN SEN, HOK LONDY, SOK ANN, SAO SOKHA, and their companions.
WHY CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT DOESN'T PASS THE CORRUPTION LAW? Because nearly all of the parlimentarians of HUN SEN's communist party and useless Funcinpech Party are corrupt and they worry that they make the laws to put them in jail. Therefore, they just want to do something useless and never care to pass the CORRUPTION LAW.
Moreover, Hun Sen, Ranarith, HOK LONDY, SOK ANN, OUM YENTEANG, SAO SOKHA, and other top leaders in Cambodia are corrupt, they just make money US$ under table and never want to develop the country. HOW CAN THEY PUSS THE PARLIMENTARY TO PASS THE CORRUPTION LAW?
It is a pity to poor innocent Cambodian people, who are living under democray system of Cambodia, but communist society of HUN SEN's communist power.
Well, well, I think I am a new khmer generation, new and fresh, but I still want to know why the government want their own country to fall in to trap like this. What is the point of doing so. I don't really mind who is right who is wrong, I think all wrong. Unless, they are in trouble they will call for God to help, so I don't support on either sides. But I just want to leave my comment that i am glad and sad to hear all the things which are happening right now in Cambodia among the corrupted leaders. I pity of the innocent people who are living their live under the oppresion of those leaders' corrupted way.
Dear Whom May come across,
The fact: All ordinary Cambodian Government employees salaries of $ 30-50/month, what is in the world do these people can live and support their families. Price index of commodities are 20 times higher. The fact: In US the average police officer annual salary is around $48,000-51,000 and FBI employees at average $51,000-53,000.
Why Cambodian Government Can not Increase Government Officers' salary? Why more and more people want so much to work for Government? Why some rich people even spend thousands of US$ in order to be a government officials?
It is exactly true that those people invest US$ in order to be government officials and in return, they make much profit from CORRUPTION of their post in government.
Finally, we can only put the blame on government, especially power-angry HUN SEN, the head of government, who has not done anything related to CORRUPTION, NATIOANL TERITORY PROTECTION,and so on.
All those corrupt leaders, government officers go to hell. You all will never reicanate again if you don't work hard to develop your beloved country Cambodia
Those evil corrupt leaders and government officers in Cambodia are worse than dogs (dogs in Cambodia)or any other most hated animals.
As you can see, they make money from corruption, heroin, money laundery, and so on and they spend this money for their mistress and kept woman. For example, Ranarith, the sex-angry price, has many sex affairs with many young singers and karaoke stars in Cambodia.
If you go to Karaoke parlors in Cambodia like XO, Washinton, and so on, you will see alot of government officers wasting their money for the young girls there and they drink and smoke like street children.
How can Cambodia be better if all those people work hard to make money from corruption to spend on this evil activity.
I BEG YOU TO STOP ALL OF THESE, AND WORK TO DEVELOP YOUR COUNTRY FOR YOUR FAMILY, YOUR PEOPLE AND YOUR COUNTRY PROSPERIOUS, REPUTAION in this world.
By Malinsa
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