The former treasurer of a company owned by Senator Kok An who was convicted in December of embezzling tens of millions of dollars from the ruling party politician was questioned in court yesterday over a related fraud complaint.

In December, Heng Chheang and his wife, Tep Kolap, were found guilty of breach of trust and sentenced to four-and-half-years in prison for embezzling about US$34 million from Kok An’s company Anco Brothers.

Heng Chheang’s lawyer, Orn Hing, said yesterday that a fraud complaint from Kok An that his client was summonsed to answer contradicted the principal of law because it only sited evidence already used in the original conviction.

“According to my checking and investigations into Oknya Kok An’s new complaint, I noted that there is no new proof or documents to accuse Heng Chheang,” he said.

“It is not right that he divided the new complaint from his old complaint and accused Heng Chheang with fraud.”

Specifically, he said that the key allegation of the fraud complaint – that his client had stolen $2.6 million from Kok An’s second wife, Sok Im – had been included in the sum that Heng Chheang and his wife were convicted of embezzling.

He denied his client – who had to be taken out of hospital to attend the court hearing – had committed any wrongdoing.

Kok An could not be reached for comment yesterday, but his lawyer, Long Dara, said his client had also filed a defamation charge against Tep Kolap.

Earlier this month, Kok An withdrew a $63 million civil suit against Heng Chheang and Tep Kolap, instead adding the sum as a compensation demand to their future appeal hearing.