The previous director of the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Bun Honn, has been promoted to an undersecretary of state at the Interior Minister.

A recently obtained document shows Honn, a lawyer who was replaced at the bar by Suon Visal last year, was given the role on December 12.

“The King Norodom Sihamoni orders to promote Bun Honn to the position of undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Interior in addition to his current occupation,” the decree states.

Reached yesterday, Honn said he was “very happy” with the advancement, though had not been assigned any role by Interior Minister Sar Kheng.

“The government has shown its faith in allowing me to work and help their work,” he said, saying the promotion took him by surprise. “I did not know in advance, I have just seen the royal decree.”

During Honn’s tenure, the bar was criticised by the International Bar Association’s Human Right’s Institute for alleged political bias and corruption.

According to the National Police’s 2016 end-of-year directory, the Interior Ministry has 11 secretary of state and 28 undersecretaries of state.