Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday twice rejected opposition Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian Mu Sochua’s application for parliamentary immunity restoration.

Mu Sochua’s filing yesterday morning was rejected by clerks who said it must be handed directly to acting prosecutor Sok Roeun, who was unavailable at the time.

“How does this court serve people?” Mu Sochua said.

“If poor people come from far away to file a complaint must they just wait until Mr Sok Roeun is available?

“This is the problem of the judiciary system in Cambodia,” Mu Sochua said.

“I don’t understand how the whole municipal court does not have anyone who can receive [my request]”.

The prominent parliamentarian said she had been disappointed by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court since its handling of her 2009 defamation complaint against Prime Minister Hun Sen.

“Starting from this point, I knew that Phnom Penh Municipal Court is a political tool court,” she said, adding that the National Assembly had docked 16.5 million riel [about US$4,125] from her salary – 8 million riel as compensation to Hun Sen and 8.5 million riel as a fine.

Yesterday afternoon, Mu Sochua’s secretary returned to the court to file her employer’s request, only to have it thrown out of court by Sok Roeun.

“The prosecutor said that the application form does not have enough relevant documents,” Mu Sochua’s secretary Chourn Sarak said.

When contacted yesterday, Sok Roeun said there was no supporting documentation attached to Mu Sochua’s request.

“Received. [But] there was no relevant documentation attached, there was only one piece of paper,” Sok Roeun said.