THE son of a two-star general from Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit was charged on Saturday in Phnom Penh with stealing a car, slapping fake licence plates on it and possessing an illegal weapon, police said.

Seang Sok, deputy prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said fourth-year law student Chea Dina, 24, the son of Major-General Chea Dara, faced five years’ jail and a US$2500 fine if found guilty.

“I have charged him with three offences. He has been sent to Prey Sar Prison to await trial,” he said.

Sea Sambath, chief of the penal offence research office at the National Military Police, said Chea Dina was arrested last Thursday in Daun Penh district’s Boeng Raing commune in connection with stealing a Toyota Land Cruiser on December 1.

“[Chea Dina] stole a car . . . and sprayed new colours on it and also changed its number plate,” he said, adding that police also seized a pistol from him.