Probe widens into plot to kill official’s wife

via Khmer NZ News Media

Wednesday, 30 June 2010 15:02 Chrann Chamroeun

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday questioned the wife of a prominent businessman for nearly two hours in connection with an alleged murder plot targeting Suv Chantha, the wife of Suv Chantol, vice chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia.

Interior Ministry officials accompanied the woman to court on Tuesday morning after a summons was issued, and she was released late Tuesday afternoon, investigating judge Te Sam Ang said.

“I have freed her to go home without filing any charges,” Te Sam Ang said. He declined to explain why she had been summoned.

Two men and two women were charged last Wednesday in connection with their alleged involvement in a scheme to kill Sun Chantha in her villa in Sen Sok district’s Toek Thla commune on June 13. Sun Chantha filed a complaint with the Interior Ministry on June 16.

Dun Vibol, who is defending the foursome, said three of them had told court officials that they had been hired by the woman questioned on Tuesday to carry out the killing.

“It is the right of the investigating judge to issue the arrest warrant to invite [the woman] for interrogation over the attempted murder case, considering that it is part of the investigation to find out the truth,” he said.

“Referring to testimony from three of the four suspects, [the woman] ordered them to kill Sun Chanthol’s wife.”

One of the four suspects, 37-year-old Chan Sokha, last Thursday retracted an earlier confession to police, saying it had been made under duress.

Dun Vibol on Tuesday speculated that the court had freed the woman because officials had not discovered any concrete evidence against her. He added that he did not expect the case to be brought to trial “for at least six months”.