Suspect charged in killing of Cambodian commentator

By Julia Wallace and Neou Vannarin

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AA) – The man accused of killing a prominent Cambodian political commentator was charged Wednesday with premeditated murder and possessing an illegal weapon, in a case the opposition has called a "state-sponsored assassination”.

The suspect, who claims to be named Chuob Somlab -- a moniker that translates as “Meet Kill” in the Cambodian language -- was arrested shortly after fleeing the gas station where he shot commentator Kem Ley with a Glock pistol Sunday and has since been undergoing questioning by police and court officials.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesman Ly Sophanna said in an online message that Chuob Somlab was charged Wednesday morning alongside another suspect accused of illegally selling the gun to him. He did not name the second man.

“Following the questioning, checking documents and evidence of Dr. Kem Ley’s murder case, the prosecutor has charged the criminal with premeditated murder and possessing an illegal weapon,” he said.

“A person was also charged who sold the weapon to the criminal for trading weapons illegally.”

Sophanna said the charges were laid based on statements made by Chuob Somlab under interrogation, but that the court’s investigation would continue.

The Cambodian opposition as well as many citizens have blamed the killing on the government, calling it a political assassination, but Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and other government officials have vehemently denied the claim, arguing that it was not in the government’s interest to have Kem Ley killed.

Hun Sen condemned the murder and called it a “cruel” act.

Kem Ley was a relatively moderate voice on the Cambodian political scene, and was often critical of the country’s main opposition party as well as the government.

In addition to being a prominent commentator who was often featured on Cambodian-language radio and quoted in local media, he was the founder of a grassroots political action network, Khmer for Khmer, which aimed to mobilize rural-dwellers into getting more involved in politics.

An offshoot of the network registered a new political party last year.

Local media reported Wednesday that the widow of Kem Ley, who is pregnant with the couple’s fifth child, was seeking to flee Cambodia to Australia due to fears for her family’s safety if they remained living in Phnom Penh.

The widow, Bou Rachana, told The Cambodia Daily newspaper that she had been offered help in emigrating to Australia by the Cambodia Australian Federation and that she was strongly considering the offer because she was afraid.

“Since this happened, I have feared for my life,” Bou Rachana told the Daily.

Despite the suspect’s claim to be named Chuob Somlab, Cambodian activists sharing information via social media investigated his background and identified him as Oert Ang, an ex-Khmer Rouge and government soldier from a poor background who also worked as a migrant laborer and served as a Buddhist monk for a period of time.

The man initially told police that he had killed Kem Ley out of anger over $3,000 the commentator had supposedly borrowed from him.

The Daily reported Wednesday that his mother and girlfriend expressed disbelief over this story, saying he was too poor to have $3,000 to spare and was not a violent man.

Bou Rachana has also cast doubt on the idea that her deceased husband borrowed thousands of dollars from the laborer.