Two officials from Phnom Penh municipality’s planning and investment office were charged and sent to prison yesterday after the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) reported a complaint from an unknown investment company, officials confirmed yesterday.

Municipal Court spokesman Ly Sophana said investigating judge Pich Vicheator sent Ruth Borey, head of the investment office, and Mey Vannarom, an official in the same office, to pre-trial detention after they were charged with misappropriation of public funds.

Yuth Longdy, a colleague of the men, said he heard that an investment company had lodged a complaint against them.

“I am not sure which company; it had a foreign name,” Longdy said yesterday. “The company registered in 2015, and I think they filed the complaint then.”

He explained that his office was in charge of preparing contracts for all investments under $2 million. “If it’s for more than that, they have to go to CDC [Cambodian Council for Development],” he said, adding that he pitied Vannarom, who is a “gentle man” who rides to work on a motorbike.