Hang Vuthy, an imprisoned former high-ranking police officer and ally of disgraced ex-municipal police chief Heng Pov, was yesterday questioned in court over the murder of a judge in 2005.

Vuthy, who is being held at Prey Sar prison, was also quizzed over a prison break and the attempted murder of a military commander, a newspaper publisher and a senior official at Electricite du Cambodge – crimes dating as far back as 1998.

Vuthy was previously convicted in absentia and sentenced to 60 years in prison, but requested a retrial after turning himself in more than two years ago. “The investigating judge has completed his questioning this morning,” court clerk Nim Theara said, declining to comment on the prospect of a retrial.