A commune chief who was fired after standing up for a monk arrested by police who entered his pagoda and allegedly fired shots in the air called on Prime Minister Hun Sen to bring her justice yesterday.

Nuon Sophut, chief of Muk Kampoul district’s Sambour Meas commune, said she was fired on Monday after trying to protect monk Chea Sovannaphum from 30 armed police that arrested him earlier this month at Monyvorn Pagoda.

“I helped the villagers and religion. While they were organising the ceremony on November 2, there were armed forces that came into the pagoda and fired 10 bullets and then arrested the chief monk,” she said. “I just asked them for the reason why they did not cooperate with me as commune chief while coming into the pagoda in my commune, but police replied that I was not afraid of termination.”

She alleged Chea Sovannaphum was arrested because he had become too successful at his work in the pagoda to the ire of those seeking promotion beneath him. “I can’t accept that I was fired when I have not done anything wrong,” she said.

Som Seiha denied Nuon Sophut had been unfairly arrested because she defended the monk. “This is absolutely an exaggeration, I do [this] whenever there is a problem,” he said.

But villager Meng Sophal defended her commune chief saying Nuon Sophut “helped the people, that’s why she was terminated.”

Orng Kimleang, Muk Kampoul deputy district governor, could not be reached for comment yesterday.