A commune council chief in Banteay Meanchey province’s Poipet town was left red-faced on the weekend after traffic police seized his vehicle for sporting an illegal siren and false number plates, officials said yesterday.

Um Sophal, the provincial deputy police chief in charge of order and traffic, said that Poipet commune chief Aing Kiheng had imported the Isuzu vehicle without paying tax or registering it.

“The seizure was made after we saw that the car was equipped with an illegal siren and an illegal number plate,” Sophal said. “After interrogation and inspection, we found Kiheng’s car was not taxed, and although its original colour is white, it was partly coloured black.”

The embellishment appeared to be intended to imitate a police car, Sophal added.

“We told him to pay tax and get a number plate. If he wants to hand the car over to the state [and register it] in the state inventory, he will get a number plate and can bring it back to use in Poipet commune.”

Sophal said that affixing a siren was not permitted for any car except for ambulances, police or military vehicles.

Kiheng could not be reached for comment. His deputy, Va Chinnaret, said he was not aware of Kiheng’s whereabouts and had not been able to reach him for several days.