BY SAING SOENTHRITH AND MECH DARA | DECEMBER 5, 2014
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court began proceedings Thursday against four bodyguards accused of murdering a prominent businessman in Phnom Penh last month on the orders of their boss, a senior Defense Ministry official, who remains at large.
Major General Thong Sarath, a deputy cabinet chief at the Ministry of Defense, is alleged to have instructed his bodyguards to murder Shimmex Group chairman Ung Meng Chue, who was gunned down outside a fruit store in Chamkar Mon district on the evening of November 22.
Police escort murder suspects Ly Sao, 28, left, and Sieng Veasna, 44, out of a van at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court Thursday. Mr Veasna is the alleged gunman in the fatal shooting of businessman Ung Meng Chue last month. Mr Sao is the suspected getaway driver. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
Three of the bodyguards were arrested on Monday, while the fourth was detained by police after presenting himself at Phnom Penh Municipal Police headquarters on Wednesday morning. The general’s parents were also taken into police custody and at least six guns were seized during the operation.
A post on the National Police website identifies the four men as Sieng Veasna, 44, the gunman; Ly Sao, 28, the getaway driver; and accomplices Meas Sambath, 27, and Koy Chanthul, 29.
“We have all the evidence and [the bodyguards] have confessed,” deputy municipal police chief Chuon Narin told reporters at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Thursday.
Moments earlier, officers escorted the four men from a police van to deputy municipal prosecutor Keo Socheat’s office for questioning.
“I am not the killer,” Mr. Veasna said as he exited the van.
Mr. Sao, the alleged getaway driver, limped out of the vehicle with the aid of an officer.
“Police broke my leg,” he said. “I want to see a doctor to treat my leg.”
According to the National Police website, Mr. Veasna and Mr. Sao drove a motorbike to the fruit shop in Chamkar Mon district, where Mr. Veasna shot Ung Meng Chue six times in the torso after the tycoon stepped out of his Lexus SUV.
Mr. Sambath and Mr. Chanthul hung back on a second motorbike in case the first two bodyguards needed protection, the website says. After the murder, Mr. Chanthul returned to the scene to make sure the victim was dead, it says.
“Deputy Phnom Penh municipal prosecutor Keo Socheat has not yet laid official charges against the four suspects because the court has not yet finished questioning them,” the website says.
“The four suspects were sent for detention at Phnom Penh municipal police headquarters to await further questioning [today].”
Brigadier General Narin said by telephone Thursday municipal police requested that the court issue an arrest warrant for Maj. Gen. Sarath, who evaded capture Wednesday night.
Brig. Gen. Narin declined to say whether police had any leads on the whereabouts of Maj Gen. Sarath.
The general’s ethnically Vietnamese parents, Thong Chamroeun, 65, and Keo Sary, 55, are due in court today to face charges of obstructing a police investigation and possession of illegal weapons, he said.
Just hours before Mr. Chamroeun and Ms. Sary were arrested on Wednesday, they held a press conference at their home in Meanchey district during which they announced they had sent their son into hiding and lambasted municipal police for seeking his arrest, calling for the resignation of Phnom Penh police chief Chuon Sovann.
Maj. Gen. Sarath’s family has built a business empire in Phnom Penh through their successful real estate and food companies, including Meanchey Foods 999, which produces the ubiquitous pate offered at the carts that line the city’s streets. The family also owns the development firm Meanchey International Investment.
According to a message posted to City Hall’s Facebook page Thursday, Maj. Gen. Sarath used his wealth to persuade his bodyguards to carry out the murder of Ung Meng Chue.
“The group of suspects who gunned down Ung Meng Chue confessed that they are not hired killers but merely implemented their boss’ orders in exchange for an apartment each,” the message says.
(Additional reporting by Hul Reaksmey)
Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said that a fourth bodyguard was arrested during police raids on the night of Wednesday, December 3. The fourth bodyguard and suspected getaway driver, Ly Sao, was detained by police after presenting himself at Phnom Penh Municipal Police headquarters that morning.
8 comments:
Do the right thing,tell the truth about who was behind the ordered killing of Oknha Meng Ong chi,please DO NOT let yuon wins by cover up the yuon's crime against your Khmer folks!...We all Khmer must loves Khmer,if you cover up yuon's crime-killing Khmer like this case,youn will kills you NEXT,so protect yourself by telling the truth about the case!...
Begin of Drgunzet's comment.
Wow, just compare Kmenhwatt's comments to my comments, you can see Khmer race is reaching its end. There is no way Khmer race can compete against the superior Vietnamese race.
At this moment, hundred of thousand Khmer are being kicked out of their lands; their homes are being bulldozed over by other Khmers. Crimes, killings, robbing, raping are rampant.
Khmer students are inferior, exposed cheating and could not pass the key national exam. So, this year, the majority 12th-grade Khmer students could not graduate High School! There is no way Khmer students can compete against the Vietnamese students who have been winning multiple International competitions.
In the last couple years, Vietnam built up a little high-tech industry thanks to Samsung, Intel, Lucky Goldstar and Nokia. There are a couple hundred thousand high paying, high tech jobs in this sector for the Vietnamese. The export in this sector alone is more than 3 times Cambodian garment industry.
Now, this year, Samsung has double-downed and rushed up investment in Vietnam for two more huge high-tech factories, each is worth for 1.5 and 3 billion US dollars. These two new factories when are fully staffed, will provide another 100,000 high paying, clean high-tech jobs for the Vietnamese.
Look, a Khmer garment worker can stitch a shirt for 10 dollars while a Vietnamese smartphone worker can assemble a 300 dollars smartphone. There is no way a Khmer worker can match the Vietnamese.
Vietnam is rapidly building up a huge dairy industry. They have been growing at 20 percent annually. So, they would double every 4 years. Vietnamese kids will have more access to milk and grow taller, bigger than Khmer kids.
Oooh, look at the poor Cambodian elder.
http://kimedia.blogspot.com/2014/12/plight-of-aged-in-cambodia-today.html
It's horrible.
Do you know that in Vietnam, they are receiving 11 - 14 billion US dollars a year from the oversea Vietnamese? They are using that money to run an underground economy. There were thousands and thousands of small hostels, restaurants, service joints mushrooming in Vietnam unreported. They avoid reporting and paying tax to Vietnam government.
When they run out of things to invest, they will come to Cambodia to invest. This means more Khmer will be kicked out of the land. Sorry, you don't have money, you are screw.
-Drgunzet-
Reference to Mi Kantorb Nguyen Van Trinh aka Keo Sary.
Ah Kwack Hun Sen,
Can you open your one eye Ah Roleuy? Yuon Truot Kbal Ah Choy Marai Eunh Heuy Nouv Ter Tveu Min Deung !! Ah Leukeu !! Ah Kwack !! Ah Roleuy !! Ah Thork Teap!! Pou Ker Barn Ter Chear Muoy Khmer !!
Keo Sary KanDuoy Mer Vear !!
Chos Puok Ah Knhom Yuon Niss Kor Thork Maless !!
Khmerization admin,
Is that you when you started the title "Begin of Drgunzet's comment" when you tried to make Khmer readers mad and frustration?
I think it is very suspicious of Khmerization admin. I will start my blogging site called Khmerization007 somewhere so that I can monitor the site to delete Drgunzet's insulting comments. Maybe it will happen if it is frustrating the Khmer and foreign readers. Just wait and see. So, we compete with your Khmerization blogging site.
Thank you,
Khmer Yeurng
Correction for 6 December 2014 2:01 pm
Khmerization admin,
Is that you when you started the title "Begin of Drgunzet's comment" when you tried to make Khmer readers so mad and get so frustrated?
I am watching you!!!
I think it is very suspicious of Khmerization admin. I will start my blogging site called Khmerization007 somewhere so that I can monitor the site to delete Drgunzet's insulting comments. Maybe it will happen if it is frustrating the Khmer and foreign readers. Just wait and see. So, we compete with your Khmerization blogging site.
Thank you,
Khmer Yeurng
សម័យដើម វាទាល់តែស្តេចយួន ទើបទិញក្បាលខ្មែរបាន
ឣីឡូវ ឣាយួន មីយួន កំប៉ិចកំប៉ុក ក៏ឣាចទិញក្បាល ឣាហ៊ុនសែន
បានដែរ ឣាឈាមថោក។
'Khmerization Admin/DrGunZet ought to quit playing this dirty game of Khmer race trashing for its readership. Any Khmer human in the right mind can see this off the bat even subconsciously. 'Khmerization Admin/DrGunZet should be ashamed of himself. 'Khmerization Admin/DrGunZet went so far as to having deleted the '10 questions to ponder over' comment
previously posted here under 'Khmerization' is unwavering for the freedom of speech?
Low life 'Khmerization Admin/DrGunZet - shape up or ship out!!!!!!!
You are still a fucking crazy Viet/YUON race 11:41 am!
Had it not been the fucking Viet/YUON communist Ho Chi Minh and all of his Viet/YUON prostitutes that keep fucking each other to over-populate their sick Viet/YUON race to 80 Mills +, the World could have been a better place to live.
The fucking Viet/YUON got the French, the American and the Russians sucked in to their fucking communist prostitution and then blame it on every else around the world. When will you fucking Viet/YUON race learn to quit being prostitute and leave everybody else alone, huh???
Fucking Viet/YUON race needs to be nuked to ashes so they won't bother anybody else around the world!!!
Big brother[FBI, CIA, HLS] will see how this Viet/YUON racist sick mind DrGunzet has been attacking/bashing Khmer race through out here on Khmer Blog pretty soon...
Nuke the Viet terrorist, nuke the Viet terrorist!!!
P.s. DrGunzet [as Anonymous] cannot delete all of his comments here on 'Khmerization' unless DrGunzet is 'Khmerization''s Admin himself!!!
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