The Appointment and the Promotions of National Police Commissioner

Minister Sar Kheng (L) and Gen. Neth Savoeun (R), during the ceremony. (Photo by Bunnak).

Koh Santepheap newspaper
22nd-23rd November, 2008
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization

Phnom Penh - On the 21st of November, at the Ministry of Interior, Minister of Interior Sar Kheng presided over the transferring of duties, the appointments and promotions ceremony of Gen. Neth Savoeun to become the National Police Commissioner.

The ceremony was organised in accordance with the royal decree for the appointment of Gen. Neth Savoeun as national Police Commissioner and for his promotion from a lieutenant general to a 4-star general in replacement of Gen. Hok Lundy who died in a helicopter crash on 9th of November.

The ceremony also announced the appointments of Lt-Gen. Chan Ean as the Deputy National Police Commissioner and Maj-Gen. Kang Sokhon, Police Commissioner of Battambang, as the Assistant Police Commissioner. Brig-Gen. Sar Thet, Deputy Chief of the Directorate of Economic Police, was appointed as the Police Commissioner of Battambang in place of Gen. Kang Sokhon. Other than these appointments, more than ten other police officers were also promoted.

During the ceremony, Gen. Neth Savoeun has made a commitment speech on behalf of the police force that he shall continue to fulfil his duties to serve the government better. After Gen. Neth Savoeun’s speech, Minister Sar Kheng made a speech in which he reminds the National Police Commissioner to make efforts to improve the police force in order to serve the country successfully.//

Premier Lost Ally, Not Power, in Chief's Crash

The late Hok Lundy is pictured directly behind Prime Minister Hun Sen as the premier returns from a trip to Beijing in October. (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

By Pin Sisovann, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
17 November 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

Prime Minister Hun Sen lost a strong ally within the Interior Ministry when the plane carrying late police chief Hok Lundy crashed Nov. 9, but officials say the prime minister's power will not be affected by a replacement.

Officials said last week that the loss of Hok Lundy, who led the national police since 1994, would be great to the government, but they were convinced national stability would not be affected.

"Nothing will change, stability will remain," said Em Sam An, secretary of state for the Interior Ministry, as he greeted a delegation of Vietnamese officials during funeral ceremonies for Hok Lundy last week. "We are sorry to lose the man. But our forces are in place and in good order. No problems will arrive. The situation in our country is getting better."

Hok Lundy was a powerful member of the Cambodian People's Party, appointed by Hun Sen "as part of an internal power play in the CPP" to take control of the police from CPP stalwarts Chea Sim, who is president of the Senate, and Sar Kheng, who is Minister of the Interior, said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch.

Hok Lundy's appointment came at a time of instability, following a failed coup attempt against Hun Sen and then co-prime minister Norodom Ranariddh, in 1994. His death, in a helicopter crash in Svay Rieng province, was a loss of a powerful right hand, but was not destabilizing, Adams said.

"After Hun Sen, he was probably the most feared man in Cambodia," Adams said.

Gen. Neth Savoeun, Hok Lundy's deputy and Hun Sen's nephew-in-law, has been named to replace the late police chief. Hok Lundy faced accusations of murder, extrajudicial killings and human trafficking, as well as collaboration in the 1997 grenade attack on opposition supporters that killed 16 people.

Neth Savoeun, who was the head of the criminal police section in the Phnom Penh Municipal Police, comes from the same security system, Adams said.

"Even in the 1980s, [Neth Savoeun] had a reputation for being among the most violent members of a very repressive security system," Adams said. "He too has been implicated in many serious human rights abuses and other crimes over the past two decades."

That appointment will likely not be challenged by Sar Kheng, Adams said.

Gen. Neth Savoeun declined comment.

Lt. Gen. Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry and adviser to Sar Kheng, dismissed the allegations, saying the police were on a five-year plan to maintain stability.

Even the US had shown Hok Lundy was "clean," he said, and had offered him a visa in 2007 to visit Washington for talks with the FBI.

"We know that Brad Adams has never talked good about our country, Cambodia," Khieu Sopheak said. "The facts differ from what he says."

He denied a factional split within the CPP, citing the party's win of 90 of 123 National Assembly seats in July's elections as proof of unity.

"Brad Adams' comments bear no merit," he said. "I mean, the dog barks, and the CPP cart moves ahead to 90 seats."

Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho, declined to comment on Hok Lundy's reputation, following Cambodian tradition, but said she hoped the new police chief would better honor human rights.

"I am speaking carefully because he has died, and we should not curse the dead," she said. "Cambodians know His Excellency Hok Lundy, so I don't need to comment more. The US government denied him a visa, so we all know there were a lot of allegations."

Her sentiments were echoed by Lt. Gen. Sok Phal, another Hok Lundy deputy, who warned reporters off strong criticism last week, asking they not "write something irrelevant which would impact the Khmers or our leaders" and should "write proper articles in his name, as the leader of the national police."

Neth Savoeun: It doesn’t matter if he is a nephew-in-law of the prime minister, what matters is he is simply…. the best

Reaksmei Kampuchea Newspaper
14th November, 2008
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization

Lt-Gen. Neth Savoeun (pictured), Deputy Police Commissioner, has been appointed Police Commissioner in a decree signed by King Sihamoni to replace Gen. Hok Lundy, who was killed in a helicopter crash (on the 9th of November). The news of his appointment thrilled many police officers, despite there are concerns from civil societies of the independence of the police force.

Gen. Mok Chito, Chief of the Directorate of Penal Police of the Ministry of Interior, said that the appointment of Gen. Neth Savoeun as the National Police Commissioner is simply the best because Gen. Neth Savoeun have been a police officer for a long time and he knew the police force very well. He cares about the welfare of his police officers and he has helped to modernise the police force. And so, all the police officers are happy to see him appointed as Police Commissioner.

Gen. Mok Chito said that Gen. Neth Savoeun have been a police officer since 1979 when he was appointed as the director of the office of penal police of Phnom Penh City. Other than supports from police officers, the appointment of Gen. Neth Savoeun has received supports from many public servants as well.

One public servant, who wish to remain anonymous, said that Gen. Neth Savoeun’s new position is not his first position. Before this, he was already a Deputy Commissioner of the National Police. What the public has never heard about Gen. Neth Savoeun was that he never had any scandals nor has he done anything wrong against the people in his capacity as a police officer. This public servant added that he hopes Gen. Neth Savoeun will continue to lead the police force toward a better force that can provide security and safety for the people.

Dr. Pung Chiv Kek, president of the human right organisation Licadho, said that she wish to see the Police Force and Military Police Force perform their duties independent from political interferences. Mrs. Pung Chiv Kek said that, it doesn’t matter whether Gen. Neth Savoeun is the nephew-in-law of Prime Minister Hun Sen, what is important is for him to respect human rights, find justice for the people, make Cambodia a law-abiding and a democratic society. If all of these can be achieved, it will lead to more foreign investments which will make the country more prosperous.

However, Mrs Pung Chiv Kek said that, to avoid criticism, the person appointed to the position of the National Police Commissioner should be a neutral person. She added that the best person for the job is a person who is not related to the prime minister of the country and not affiliated with any political parties.

Mrs. Pung Chiv Kek added that she wish to see the standard of the police force improved so that the force is fully competent to perform its own duties independently in order to avoid criticism of corruption that plagued the current police force.
Gen. Neth Savoeun was married to Mrs. Hun Kimleng, who is the daughter of Governor Hun Neng and a niece of Prime Minister Hun Sen, in 1990 when he was Commissioner of Phnom Penh Police. Gen. Neth Savoeun has three daughters. He rose through the ranks of police force until he reached his current top job. He has been a director of the office of penal police of Phnom Penh City, a deputy commissioner and commissioner of Phnom Penh Police, director of penal police and head of economic police of Ministry of Interior, re-appointed a Commissioner of Phnom Penh Police before becoming chief of Central Directorate of Justice Police in 2000. Gen. Neth Savoeun was appointed as Deputy Commissioner of National Police in charge of Justice Affairs until 2008.//