Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet has appointed a former governor convicted of shooting a group of protesters to a senior position within the Ministry of Interior, RFA Khmer has learned, prompting condemnation from rights groups over rampant nepotism and impunity within the government.
It’s the latest controversial appointment by the prime minister, who in February named his younger brother, Hun Many, one of Cambodia’s 11 deputy prime ministers. The same month, his father, former Prime Minister Hun Sen, appointed as his adviser a former top military police official who was found guilty 15 years ago in an acid attack that disfigured a victim’s face.
In a sub-decree dated Jan. 30, but only released to the public on Thursday, Hun Manet appointed Chhouk Bandith, the former governor of Bavet city in Svay Rieng province, to the position of deputy director general of the General Department of Administration under the Ministry of Interior.
Chhouk Bandith was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay 38 million riel (US$9,500) in compensation after he was convicted of shooting and wounding three female garment workers. They had been protesting poor conditions at the Kaoway Shoe Factory in Svay Rieng province in February 2012. He was released from prison in February 2015 after serving his full sentence.
Despite his conviction, on March 18, 2022, Acting Head of State and President of the Senate Say Chhum promoted Chhouk Bandith to the new post.
Chhouk Bandith is also a nephew of influential Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam A.
Attempts by RFA to reach him and government spokesman Pen Bona for comment on the appointment went unanswered Thursday.
‘There is no reform’
Ly Chanravuth, an activist with the environmental watchdog Mother Nature Cambodia, called the move a sign that Hun Manet is reneging on his promise to reform the government.
“This is an example that proves there is no reform,” he said. “Instead, we’re seeing appointments based on lineage and factions. In addition, the appointment of officials who have committed serious misconduct has put us back to where we were years ago.”
Ly Chanravuth said that appointing convicted criminals to office will lead to social insecurity. The public will be unable to seek help from the government to find justice because the officials that they rely on are already violating the rights of the people, he said.
Chhouk Bandith remained at large for a time after his conviction, prompting rights groups to speculate that he was under the protection of top officials. In November 2013, an appeals court upheld his 18-month jail sentence and the restitution to the garment workers, according to an earlier RFA report.
He later turned himself in after then-Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered his capture.
Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.