Wednesday, 6 August 2008

Two Border Police Shot by Army Soldiers

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
05 August 2008

Two Cambodian customs officials were injured in a shooting by Cambodian soldiers at the Vietnam border Tuesday, after they tried to stop a truck smuggling construction equipment into Cambodia.

Kang Heap, 47, and Chan Chheang, 46, both received injuries, but neither of them was in critical condition, after they were beaten, kicked and accidentally shot by the soldiers, customs officials and border police said.

The two had tried to stop two trucks carrying construction goods at the Longky checkpoint, Bavet commune, Chantria district, Svay Rieng province.

The soldiers were identified as "Mr. Chheang" the son of a high-ranking military official in Phnom Penh, and "Mr. Chap."

Soy Samath, a border policeman in Svay Rieng, said an investigation would follow. No one has so far been arrested.

Tuesday's incident marked the first time Cambodian soldiers have been accused of shooting customs police in Svay Rieng.

Pan Simon, director of the customs department of the Ministry of Finance, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

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