Bar council to receive results of Kong Sam Onn probe this week

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Government lawyer Ky Tech in a file photograph.

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Meas Sokchea
Wednesday, 10 June 2009

Mu Sochua’s lawyer vows to appeal if council finds him guilty of violations

A MEMBER of the Cambodian Bar Association panel investigating a complaint against the lawyer for Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua said Tuesday that he expected a recommendation to be forwarded to the bar's disciplinary council this week.

The 19-member council will then decide whether Kong Sam Onn violated bar rules, for which he could be suspended or disbarred.

Hem Socheat, the panelist, said he did not know how long it would take for the council to reach a decision.

Ky Tech, the lawyer for Prime Minister Hun Sen who brought the complaint against Kong Sam Onn, appeared briefly before the panel Tuesday. He said the panel asked him only whether he had anything to add to his complaint.

"I answered that my stance has not changed," Ky Tech told the Post Tuesday.

The complaint relates to defamation suits - one filed by Mu Sochua, and a countersuit filed by Hun Sen - stemming from an April 4 speech in which Mu Sochua said the prime minister made derogatory comments about her.

Ky Tech alleged in his complaint that Kong Sam Onn violated Bar Association rules by asserting during a press conference held April 23 - three days before Mu Sochua's suit was filed - that Hun Sen defamed her.

Kong Sam Onn said he believed the council was not independent, adding that he would appeal a decision that was not in his favour. Bar Secretary General Suon Visal acknowledged Sunday that two council members - whom he declined to name - held positions in the government, but said this would not affect the final decision.