Family says police shot young man on purpose

Mom Kunthear

Phnom Penh Post

THE family of a 22-year-old man who died from bullet wounds sustained during an altercation with police last week in Kampong Cham province has filed a complaint with two rights groups alleging that the officers shot at him intentionally.

Ham Kim Yory, 28, the older sister of the victim, Ham Vanda, said the complaints were filed with Adhoc and Licadho on Wednesday.

“They shot my brother three times for no reason while he was sitting in front of the house with his wife and friends. The two police came and accused my brother of stealing a necklace,” Ham Kim Yory said. She said her brother had denied the theft.

She said she knew of witnesses who would support her version of events, but Prack Bun Nun, the police chief of Ponhea Krek district, where the shooting occurred, said Ham Vanda had struggled with the officers, causing the gun to fire.

“Actually, my police didn’t want to shoot him, but the gun was triggered one time and the bullet entered his neck while the victim tried to fight to get the gun from the police,” he said. He added that the police had been tipped off that Ham Vanda stole the necklace.

“The courts can find justice and decide which side is right,” he said.

Neang Sovath, the provincial coordinator for Adhoc, said one way to solve the case would be to examine Ham Vanda’s body to determine whether he had been shot three times, as his family contends, or just once.

A complaint has not yet been filed with the provincial court, he said.