On Saturday, 15th September 2012, the Rattanakiri province police detained two suspects—one is a military police officer named Ean Bunheng, alias Eng, and the other is his spouse, Sim Vy—at the provincial police headquarters. They have not been sent to the Prosecutor’s office at Rattanakiri Provincial Court yet. What is more, the provincial police prolonged their detention (by 24 hours) in order to conduct more investigation. The victim’s family, the journalists’ community, as well as human rights NGOs, are closely monitoring the handling of the case by the authorities and express grave concerns about this killing.
In the evening of Saturday, 15th September 2012, late Hang Serey Odom’s mother and spouse visited ADHOC’s provincial office to request the assistance of a lawyer in order to intervene with the judicial authorities. Given the importance of this case, ADHOC put a lawyer at the disposal of Hang Serei Odom’s family.
On Sunday, 16th September 2012, the provincial police decided to send the two suspects to the Prosecutor’s office, pursuant to criminal procedure. The two suspects have been questioned about their involvement in the murder case of Hang Serei Odom, a former reporter at Virakchun Khmer.
The two suspects have been detained at Rattanakiri prison. According to a source of information who did not wish to be named, the accused lady, Sim Vy, decided to confess, but the police are seeking to arrest other people who might be involved in this crime.
ADHOC’s provincial staff, Mr. Pen Bonnar and Mr. Chhay Thy, have conducted a close monitoring of this case, including the judicial process. The journalists and other media reporters were not allowed to monitor and to take pictures in the court; however, ADHOC’s staff were allowed to take pictures and record videos inside the court. They even enjoyed full collaboration from court officials and provincial authorities.
For more information please contact :
Mr. Ny Chakrya, Head of ADHOC’s Monitoring Section: 011 274 959
