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Banteay Meanchey provincial court spokesperson Roeun Rina has said that Chea Ratha, a former senior Phnom Penh police chief, and four other people have been charged with illegal smuggling of goods from Thailand. They have been held in pre-trial detention since last week.
Deputy prosecutor Samrith Sokhun said Ratha and the four suspects were arrested for smuggling fish and fish eggs from Thailand, declining to elaborate further. He referred questions to the police.
Recall that Ratha, who was once deputy military police chief, and five accomplices were sentenced in absentia to 18 years in prison by the Appeal Court in November 2009 after it overturned a lower court’s acquittal charge which cleared her and her co-accused due to lack of evidence. The acquittal in August 2009 drew criticism from human rights groups at the time.
In 2010, the Supreme Court upheld the 18-year prison sentence but rights groups said she “never served the sentence”, sparking concerns of impunity.
In 2008, two unidentified assailants carried out an acid attack on 36-year-old Ya Soknim as she was leaving a health clinic. Soknim is the aunt of beauty pageant actress In Soklyda, who was previously in a same-sex relationship with Ratha.
Rights group Licadho said the Soknim eventually died in June 2011 from severe injuries sustained in the acid attack.
“We view this as impunity because she was sentenced to 18 years for attempted murder, but had never served time or been arrested,” said Am Sam Ath’s Licadho operations director.
“Although the Supreme Court upheld the 18-year conviction, we never saw Chea Ratha being arrested to serve her sentence,” he said.
Sam Ath called on court officials to consider the case of Ratha who had previously been convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
The permanent committee of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) approved Ratha’s appointment as advisor to former Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2024.
CPP spokesperson Chea Thyrith said “the party does not protect anyone who breaks the law”, and declined to comment further on Ratha’s latest arrest for smuggling goods.
