Voice of Democracy Radio: "Bandith initially admitted to opening fire, but the prosecutor alleged that he had unintentionally injured the women."
-------------------------------------------Last Updated on 01 January 2013
Phnom Penh Post
Garment worker Buot
Chenda (C) receives treatment at a hospital after she was shot during a
protest in Svay Rieng province in February 2012. Witnesses implicated
former Bavet town Governor Chhouk Bandith in the shooting. Photograph:
Derek Stout/Phnom Penh Post
Two weeks after the Svay Rieng Provincial Court revealed it had
dropped charges against former Bavet town Governor Chhouk Bandith in a
controversial triple shooting case, the man who effectively replaced him
as the prime suspect yesterday appeared at the Ministry of Interior.
Bavet town police chief Sar Chanta, the man the Svay Rieng court left as the sole suspect, yesterday reiterated his innocence.
“I didn’t commit [the crime] as accused. I didn’t fire, because I had
no gun. It is such an injustice to me,” Chanta protested yesterday,
speaking to the Post after having left the ministry.
Chanta claimed he was standing at the Sheico (Cambodia) Co, Ltd
Factory located about 500 or 600 metres away from the scene of the crime
outside the Kaoway Sports Ltd Factory, where three female protestors
were shot on February 18.
Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak yesterday declined to
talk about Chanta’s visit to the ministry or further elaborate on the
twists and turns that have taken place in the lengthy investigation.
“That is the case under the court; you can contact with the court – whatever it does is right,” he said.
Appeal Court prosecutor general Ouk Savuth said he had filed a
complaint against the provincial court’s decision on December 21 and
would “debate this case on the table altogether publicly”.
“I don’t know if senior officials are involved or not, but what I do is transparent and legal,” he said.
Bandith was originally arrested for allegedly shooting the three
women in front of about 6,000 protesters in March after Interior
Minister Sar Kheng identified him as the sole suspect.
Perplexingly, an arrest warrant was never issued, and on December 14,
the Svay Rieng Provincial Court dropped the charges against him, citing
insufficient evidence, despite a vast number of witnesses and the fact
Bandith had at least partially confessed.
From the very beginning, the case has been marred by allegations of
political interference stemming from claims that Bavet town officials
and Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An tried to buy the victims’ silence.
Svay Rieng, meanwhile, remains a province where Bandith holds powerful ties.
Earlier this year, Sok Sam Oeun, Cambodia’s top legal aid defence
lawyer, suggested that if provincial level political interference in the
case was a concern, it was legally possible for the Ministry of Justice
to transfer the jurisdiction of the case.
Sok Sam Oeun yesterday welcomed Appeal Court prosecutor general Ouk Savuth’s decision to intervene in the case.
“Yes, this case must go to the Appeal Court. It is good that the
prosecutor agreed to appeal. If he did not agree to appeal, the case
cannot reach re-investigation because of double jeopardy,” he said.
To contact the reporters on this story: May Titthara at
titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com
David Boyle at
david.boyle@phnompenhpost.com
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