On Friday morning police arrested the six masked gunmen who helped release a prisoner while he was temporarily outside of prison receiving dental care in Siem Reap province.
According to the General Department of Prisons and released video footage, six men wearing masks brandished guns at police officials escorting the prisoner as well as bystanders at Chum Chenda Dental Clinic, while the prisoner, Chen Hsin Han, walked out of the building.
“The National Police’s specialized police force arrested [the gunmen] but the investigation has not yet been completed,” said National Police Commissioner General Neth Savoeun. “We are investigating the syndicates behind the case and the drug prisoner.”
He said the specialized police force is continuing to search for Chen Hsin Han, but declined to answer more detailed questions about the arrests. General Department of Prisons Director Chhem Savuth confirmed that the six men were arrested in Phnom Penh Friday, while the prisoner is still at large.
The prisoner is a 45 year old “Chinese (Taiwan)” engineer sentenced to 52 years in prison for illegal drug transport and trafficking in 2009, according to posts on social media from the prisons department.
The Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
A Siem Reap Provincial Prison document shows that the prisoner was approved Wednesday for an appointment at the clinic to treat a toothache after medicine had not been effective and the prisoner was unable to eat.
The prisoner arrived at the clinic on Thursday morning. The six gunmen drove a “Lexus 330,” which was later dumped behind a borey in Svay Dangkum commune, according to the prisons department. Police found the car along with other evidence within an hour of the prisoner’s escape. A photo published by Fresh News shows guns, masks, shoes, rope and backpacks found by police.
Seang Sen, director of the Commercial Gambling Crime Department, told CamboJA that police officials are opening an investigation to find other suspects who were involved in assisting the prisoner to escape.
“We are working hard on this issue to find the identity of the suspects,” he said. “We are now doing an investigation and we can’t let you know much. We will inform you in more detail after we find out more information.”
Chum Chenda Dental Clinic declined to comment.
Am Sam Ath, the NGO Licadho’s operations director, said the fact that these men had guns shows a weakness of authorities to control access to guns in the country. In addition to the security concerns this incident brings up, he said he believed information from the prison must have been leaked to the criminals.
“Why did the criminals [gunmen] know that the Siem Reap prison officers sent the Chinese prisoner to the dental clinic. This is our question. Because this is all [related to] the Siem Reap Provincial Prison’s procedures,” he said.
The Siem Reap Provincial Prison and Siem Reap Provincial Police Chief Tith Narong could not be reached for comment.
