Cambodian governor caught over shooting after two years on the run, Asia News

Reuters

Aug 08, 2015

PHNOM PENH - A fugitive Cambodian governor wanted for the shooting of three garment workers was arrested on Saturday after more than two years on the run, after the country's strongman leader Hun Sen broke his silence and called for his arrest.

Chhouk Bandith shot and wounded the women in front of thousands of workers during a rowdy 2012 protest at a supplier factory for German sporting goods group Puma in Svay Rieng province.

His years of freedom - despite being convicted in absentia in 2013 and sentenced to 18 months in prison - has long angered Cambodians fed up with the antics of an often untouchable elite.

Chhouk Bandith, who previously served as governor of the town of Bavet, on the border with Vietnam, surrendered to police in the capital, Phnom Penh, city police chief General Chuon Sovann told Reuters. "We have Chhouk Bandith and we are transferring him to Svay Rieng provincial court to further process the legal procedures,"Chuon Sovann told Reuters.

Chhouk Bandith chose to surrender after Prime Minister Hun Sen publicly called for the first time on Monday that he be arrested, Chuon Sovann said.

Activists welcomed the arrest, but said the fact that his years on the lam only ended with a word from Hun Sen showed the power of the prime minister's meddling in the country's deeply corrupt law enforcement and judiciary, which is often used to stifle his opponents. "The message Hun Sen wants to send is that his word is magical," said Moeun Tola, a labour activist with the Community Legal Education Center.

Rights groups have criticised the charge Chhouk Bandith was convicted on - unintentional injury - as too lenient and have called for fresh charges of attempted murder.

Renewed interest in the case was sparked after the high-profile arrest of real estate tycoon Sok Bun in July for the beating of a female television presenter, Ek Socheata.

Hun Sen added his voice to the chorus of condemnation over the beating, after a video of the attack went viral online.

Protests over wages and workingconditions, and violentcrackdowns, are common in Cambodia's garment industry. Garments are the country's biggest revenue earner, bringing in more than US$5 billion annually and employing 600,000 people.

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Cambodian police Saturday arrested a wanted property tycoon on his return to the kingdom after a video of his vicious assault on a popular TV star triggered widespread anger and a call from the premier to give himself up.
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Wealthy businessman Sok Bun, who had fled to Singapore in an apparent attempt to evade authorities, was arrested on his arrival at Phnom Penh airport before being escorted directly to court where he faces charges, police said.
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CCTV footage of the assault on Ek Socheata, better known by her stage name SaSa, in a Phnom Penh restaurant fuelled public outrage in a country where the wealthy are often seen to be beyond the reach of a corrupt judicial system.
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Violence against women is commonplace in Cambodia but the public exposure of the attack has triggered a nerve in the country, dominating local headlines as the graphic video was widely shared on social media.
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The attack on SaSa by Sok Bun and his armed bodyguard took place in the early hours of July 2 in a Japanese restaurant in the capital.
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She obtained CCTV footage of the incident and posted it on Facebook four days later alongside images of her injuries.
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The grainy footage shows two men beating a woman in a black dress.
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They dragged her from a leather sofa and repeatedly kicked her in the head.
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All this time she desperately tries to get up from the floor.
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Sok Bun's bodyguard is seen brandishing a handgun throughout the attack.
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In an interview with AFP on Thursday SaSa said the argument began when Sok Bun made drunken and unwanted advances towards a Japanese friend.
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"He used his boots to step on my body and head."
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"He kicked me and he used his boots to stomp on my face and nose."
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The 28-year-old said told AFP in an interview.
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"I am aware of domestic violence (in Cambodia), but this violence was so cruel."
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"His beating was not to scare me, he was trying to kill me."
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On Saturday SaSa told AFP she was happy Sok Bun would now face the law.
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"Let the judges and the court do their work, all I want is justice," she said.
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In a number of statements released through his lawyer Sok Bun has admitted carrying out the attack and pleaded for mercy from the public.
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He also said he had offered SaSa US$100,000 (S$136,647) compensation.
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Following the incident, Sok Bun had also resigned from a number of trade bodies.
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SaSa has said that the sum was later raised to $200,000 but she has not decided whether to accept it.
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