Cambodia asks Finland to reconsider visa for convicted police chief

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong Thursday urged the Finnish government to reconsider its decision to issue visa for former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov, who was sentenced to 18 years in jail in absentia in September for masterminding to kill a judge.

"We are very regrettable indeed that criminals who fabricated claims against the Royal Government of Cambodia to masquerade their actual crimes have gained the protection from Finland," said Hor, who is also Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

"Therefore, in the future, it is futile to talk under various frameworks about cooperation to combat and prevent organized crimes, but instead we should talk about nurturing them," he said.

This was the second time that the Finnish government allowed Cambodian criminals to stay and it should reconsider what it had done so far for Cambodia, he added.

"Once they arrive in Finland, these criminals will spread defamation against the Royal Government of Cambodia, just like the cases of Sok Yoeun and Heng Pov," said Hor.

"We already sent letters to inform Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Malaysia's court, and the Singaporean authorities about Heng Pov's crimes, he added.

After his legal team negotiated with the Finnish government for two months and underwent an independent review, the 49-year-old, one-legged former capital police chief received his entry visa to Finland, which significantly increased his chances of avoiding deportation.

Heng Pov, also serving as personal advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen and under-secretary of state at Ministry of Interior, managed to fled overseas in July, but failed to seek asylum in Singapore and Malaysia.

He has been detained in Malaysia since Oct. 3 for overstaying his entry pass.

The Cambodian court believed that he was responsible for the murder of Phnom Penh judge Sok Sethamony, while a press release from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation insisted that he was involved in six other cases including illegal confinement, murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and illegal weapon possession and usage.

In addition, Sok Yoeun, an active member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, was accused of staging rocket attack on the motorcade of Hun Sen when he attended the ceremony of the establishment of the first government of Cambodia in 1998. He then fled to Thailand and finally secure his stay in Finland.

Source: Xinhua