THE Appeal Court yesterday postponed a hearing in the case of former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov, who is accused of plotting to kill prominent Khmer-language newspaper publisher Thong Uy Pang in 1998. In April last year, Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted him of attempted murder and sentenced him to 18 years in prison. Appeal Court judge Seng Sivutha said he had decided to postpone the hearing due to the absence of lawyers for Thong Uy Pang and Heng Pov’s co-defendant, Pheng Phai. He did not say when the hearing would be held. Heng Pov did not address the court, but Kao Soupha, his defence lawyer, agreed that the case should not proceed in the absence of lawyers. Heng Pov was arrested in 2006 and has since been sentenced to more than 90 years in prison on a raft of charges, including extortion, kidnapping and murder.