A PHNOM Penh Municipal Court prosecutor said Sunday that he planned to question the 25-year-old mechanic who said last week that a senior police official and two accomplices beat him during an argument over their driving.

Sok Roeun said he had received a criminal complaint filed by the mechanic, Phat Dara, accusing Neang Sok Na, deputy police chief of the Phnom Penh Minor Crimes Bureau, of causing injury and attempted murder in connection with the December 13 incident.

“I will question Phat Dara at some point this week,” Sok Roeun said before declining to comment further.

Phat Dara is still being treated at Calmette Hospital, where he is experiencing severe chest pain, said his boss, Om Heng, owner of the Heng Heng garage, adding that the mechanic is seeking 20 million riels (about US$4,823) in compensation.

Phat Dara had earlier filed a complaint with the Ministry of Interior following the beating, during which, he said, the three men pistol-whipped him and threatened to kill him. Ministry and police officials denied any wrongdoing in the case.