Robbery case

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court yesterday postponed for the third time a hearing in a case against Som Ek, the alleged head of an antigovernment group known as the Tiger Head Movement, on charges related to a series of armed robberies that took place in the capital’s Meanchey district 10 years ago.

Defence lawyer Sam Sokong said yesterday that his client had been charged in 2000 with involvement in robbing gold vendors, crimes linked to the movement, but that the court had earlier dropped the case because of a lack of evidence.

He said the case was reopened last year, after Som Ek and other alleged members of the movement were charged in a failed bomb plot that targeted the Defence Ministry and the state-run television station TV3. He said Som Ek was charged earlier this year as an accomplice to attempted murder for his role in the robberies. Som Ek has also been charged with plotting a failed 2007 bomb attack.