Prime Minister Hun Sen has weighed in on last week’s vicious beating of a judge in Mondulkiri province, ordering Minister of Justice Ang Wong Vathana on Friday to arrest high-ranking officials wanted in connection with the crime.

Warrants were issued last week for the arrests of Chith Kunthol, deputy inspector of the provincial branch of the Ministry of Labour, and Chhoeng Chanbo, deputy director of the provincial branch of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, in relation to the attack in a restaurant on December 4.

“I would ask the Ministry of Justice to transfer this case from Mondulkiri to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court,” Hun Sen said. “These accused officials must be arrested. [If they are guilty], they must be punished not pardoned because of who they are.”

Judge Tony Meng is now recovering in hospital in Vietnam, where he is being treated for injuries to his skull.