A police officer has come under fire after he was filmed leaving a guest house with a woman just days after he allegedly faked a traffic accident involving an opposition official who is now facing charges.
Following the incident on December 22, when border police officer Chhean Pisith was recorded collapsing in front of a car owned by Din Puthy, a local Cambodia National Rescue Party official in Poipet. Pisith was sent to Thailand for treatment after the Ministry of Interior said he had been badly injured in the incident.
The video prompted widespread ridicule of the officer on social media.
Soum Chankea, a local rights worker with NGO Adhoc, said the latest video showed Pisith “having fun when he should be sorry for Din Puthy, who was detained.”
In the clip posted on Facebook, Pisith can be seen walking normally and sharing the company of a young woman as they leave a guest house in Thailand.
Meas Ny, a Phnom Penh-based analyst, said if the videos were authentic it was an embarrassing episode for both the officer involved and the Cambodian government.
“If we are looking forward, Cambodian citizens should examine this and think carefully about what kind of society we want in the future,” he said.
Kheiu Sopheak, Interior Ministry spokesman, could not be reached.
Seth Los, deputy provincial police chief, said he had not heard from Pisith since he went to Thailand for treatment.
“At this stage, it is with the courts,” he said.
Puthy’s family in late December held a protest in Poipet demanding he be released, during which his sister, Din Van, was arrested.
Sim Vannak, a member of Puthy’s Informal Economy Reinforced Association, a workers association, said those arrested at the protest were later released after pledging not to demonstrate again.
Police denied arrests were made.