Monday, 19 October 2009 15:04 Chrann Chamroeun
PHNOM Penh Municipal Court on Saturday charged the former head of the city’s anti-drug-trafficking bureau with possession of illegal drugs and bribery, his lawyer said Sunday.
Touch Muysor, the chief of Phnom Penh Municipality’s anti-drug-trafficking bureau, was arrested Tuesday after 8,000 methamphetamine pills – worth around US$100,000 – were found in his office.
“I have charged Touch Muysor with possessing illegal drug substances under the new anti-drug trafficking amendment,” said deputy court prosecutor Hing Bunchea.
He added: “Prosecution measures to be carried out depend on the amount of drugs found. The accused is being investigated further.”
Kea Chhay, Touch Muysor’s attorney, said his client had also been charged with bribery.
Touch Muysor was questioned on October 12 by officials from the Ministry of Interior, the National Police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation on suspicion of possessing illegal substances. A day later, a search was conducted at his office, and he was suspended from his duties as police chief and transferred to another position.
Sok Sam Oeun, director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, a free legal aid NGO, said Sunday that Touch Muysor would be found guilty if the court concludes that he had been in possession of the drugs “for trafficking purposes or personal profit”.
If, however, the court finds that he was in possession of the drugs for investigative purposes while following internal protocols, the charges could be dropped, Sok Sam Oeun added.
Touch Muysor’s attorney Kea Chhay said Sunday that his client was in possession of the drugs as part of an ongoing investigation.
Kea Chay confirmed Sunday his client was being held in Prey Sar prison.
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