Hun Sen's relative admits to hit-and-run

Written by Chamroeun Chrann

Wednesday, 13 August 2008 Courtesy of Phnom Penh Post

A MAN who answered the phone of Prime Minister Hun Sen's nephew Hun Chea and identified himself as Hun Chea's younger brother admitted Tuesday to his family's involvement in a hit-and-run killing and blamed the victim for being inebriated. "This case has already been resolved. I compensated the victim's family US$4,000," he said. On August 3 at about 11:30 pm, a black Cadillac Escalade SUV sped north up Phnom Penh's Sothearos Boulevard at more than 100km/h before running down a man on a motorbike, tearing off his left arm and left leg in front of the Regent Park Hotel. The SUV's driver attempted to flee, but a destroyed front left tire forced him to pull over in front of the Ministry of Justice. Numerous traffic police were seen avoiding the accident scene, but armed military police arrived, removed the SUV's license plate and comforted Hun Chea. On Tuesday, the man claiming to be Hun Chea's younger brother disputed the press coverage of the accident. "It's not right what Radio Free Asia broadcasted, saying that it was unintentional murder. It was not. It was a normal traffic accident in which the motorbike driver was very drunk," he said. "Please stop broadcasting about this case, or I will file a complaint, because the case has already ended. You see, there are a lot of terrible accidents. Why don't [journalists] go there and ask those drivers?" Last week, Deputy Municipal Police Commissioner Him Yan said he would open a file on the case. "According to the law, it must be sent to court," he said. But Tuesday Him Yan declined to comment on the case. ------------------------------------ 1. Read previous article: Hun Sen's nephew involved in a hit-and-run