Assault Case

A court official on Tuesday denied having tried to bribe a mechanic into dropping a criminal complaint against a senior police officer who the mechanic says pistol-whipped him on the head and hands during an altercation earlier this month. Sok Roeun, deputy prosecutor at Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said: “We haven’t tried to make the mechanic drop his assault complaint against a senior police officer. We are now working on the case.” Om Heng, the victim’s employer and owner of Heng Heng Garage on Street 39 in Phnom Penh, said Monday that Sok Roeun offered Phat Dara US$500 in exchange for dropping his case against Neang Sok Na, deputy police chief of the Phnom Penh Minor Crimes Bureau, who he has accused of beating him after Phat Dara warned children to clear the road and avoid the officer’s speeding car. Contacted on Tuesday, Om Heng said the bribe had been offered not by court officials, but by “friends of Neang Sok Na”. The police official, who has denied attacking Phat Dara during the incident on December 13, could not be reached for comment.