Two Arrested After Police Official Murdered

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
10 September 2007

Authorities were holding two men Monday after the murder of a deputy chief of military police, officials said.

Col. Reth Nika, 27, was gunned down on a busy Phnom Penh street Sunday evening. He had fled his Mercedes after it was chased by an SUV and became stuck in traffic, Agence France-Presse reported Monday.

Gunman ran after Reth Nika and caught up with him in a pagoda, where they shot him dead, AFP reported.

Two suspects had been arrested and a third man thought to be involved died from injuries sustained during a shootout, Phnom Penh Police Chief Touch Naroth said. Police suspected a personal grudge and were searching for two more suspects, he said.

AFP reported the dead assailant as Rath Sorady, 20, a policeman with the Interior Ministry.

Keo Remy, first vice president of the Human Rights Party, called the shooting a "brutal" example of the "killing anarchy" brought about by weak rule of law.

Chan Saveth, an investigator for the rights group Adhoc, said his group was investigating the shooting.

Reth Nyka's shooting and killing

Body of Lieutenant Colonel Reth Nyka (Photo: Socheata, Koh Santepheap newspaper)

The Mercedes car driven by Reth Nyka was shot several times (Photo: Bunry, Koh Santepheap newspaper)

Crowd of onlookers at the shooting scene (Photo: Bunry, Koh Santepheap newspaper)

Military police deputy killed in Cambodia

10/09/2007
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

A senior military policeman has been killed in an intense gunfight in the capital, Phnom Penh.

At least five gunmen, including an Interior Ministry police officer, attacked Phnom Penh's deputy Military Police chief, Reth Nika, firing into his car after a high-speed chase.

Phnom Penh police chief, Touch Naruth, told AFP news agency that the 27-year-old fled his vehicle for a nearby temple after his car got stuck in traffic.

His assailants hunted him down and shot him dead within the temple grounds.

One of the attackers also died - from wounds suffered during the attack.

Touch Naruth says it is unclear why the killing took place.

Two people are under arrest and a hunt is continuing for more members of the group of assassins.

Deputy military police (PM) commander shot and killed in the middle of Phnom Penh

Monday, September 10, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

The deputy military police (PM) commander for Phnom Penh City was killed by armed men in the evening of 09 September, right in the middle of the City of Phnom Penh. Local newspapers report that Lieutenant Colonel Reth Nyka, the deputy PM commander for the City of Phnom Penh, was shot and killed. Eyewitnesses said that 27-year-old Reth Nyka was shot by a man wearing a white shirt, armed with two handguns, near Wat Saravoan pagoda, Watt Phnom commune, Daun Penh district. The armed man shot Reth Nyka several times on his head. Reth Nyka was transported by ambulance to the Calmette hospital, but because his injuries were too severe, the doctors could not save him, and he died. His body was sent to Wat Langka pagoda for religious ceremony. The Srah Chak police said that the suspect in the shooting of Reth Nyka was immediately apprehended by the authority and sent to the city PM headquarters. There is no indication yet on the motive of the shooting. Reth Nyka was the former deputy PM commander in the Kandal province, he was recently transferred to the city of Phnom Penh.