The Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged 13 people on Tuesday for their involvement in the escape of a Chinese drug trafficker from prison during a supervised visit to a dentist’s office in Siem Reap.
The court ordered the suspects to be remanded in custody at Prey Sar Prison. The charges included escaping from prison, unlawful confinement, abandonment of weapons in public places, organizing armed groups, money laundering, illegal possession of drugs, and possession and transportation of weapons.
Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesperson Plang Sophal confirmed that the suspects are at the prison awaiting their court questioning, which has not been scheduled yet.
Last week, the National Police confirmed that 11 people were arrested, including the convicted drug trafficker Chen Hsin Han. On Tuesday, the National Police reported that the police had arrested two more suspects in Siem Reap.
The charged suspects include two Chinese/Taiwanese citizens, three Cambodians, six Cambodian-Americans, one Chinese-American and one Saudi Arabian, according to Deputy National Police Chief Mok Chito.
He added that the investigation is still working to find more syndicate members involved in the armed escape. Two more Turkish nationals have been identified but not yet been arrested, he said.
Nuth Savna, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry’s Prisons Department, confirmed that the 13 suspects are now in the Prey Sar Prison. He said that, after experiencing the escape of the drug trafficker, the prison officers have strengthened measures to prevent another escape from happening again.
“We have carefully strengthened the security work. The director of the center organized a working group and a clear protection plan and reporting system,” he added.
Am Sam Ath, director at the human rights group Licadho, told CamboJA that even though suspects were in detention, the police should continue the investigation into how those charged knew when Chen Hsin Han would be at the dentist and how they acquired the guns.
“Even though we see that the criminals were arrested, there are still many doubts,” he said. They have to do more investigative work in order to strengthen security and prevent this problem from happening again.”
