A former Siem Reap provincial police chief who drunkenly fired his gun at a hotel in 2012 will officially be sworn in as police chief of the newly created Tbong Khmum province today, a police official has said.

“Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng will preside over a swearing-in ceremony on Monday,” the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said yesterday.

It was Kheng who removed [Mao] Pov from his position as Siem Reap police chief in September 2012 after the official fired off several shots in Siem Reap’s Lok Yen hotel after an apparently boozy dinner.

He maintained his innocence, saying he had fired in self-defence because he thought “an enemy” had followed him to his room. Authorities released him after he offered an apology, drawing fire from rights groups.

National Police spokesman Kirth Chantharith, Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak and Pov could not be reached yesterday.