[The following letter was sent to the Post Sept 9 by Julio A. Jeldres, official

biographer to His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk and an honorary minister in the King's

cabinet:]

The Editor,

I am writing with reference to your article "National police involvement in

murder denied" in your esteemed newspaper's issue of August 29, 1997, concerning

the murder of Ho Sok, the Funcinpec Secretary of State for the Ministry of Interior.

It should be recalled, at the outset, that Ho Sok had been warned, a few months before

the coup d'état of 5 July 1997, by Second Prime Minister Hun Sen that Ho Sok

should wear a steel helmet if he wanted to arrest Mong Reththy, who has been named

as allegedly being involved in the trafficking of marijuana. Ho Sok was investigating

a seizure of marijuana in Sihanoukville in which Mong Reththy, a financier of the

second premier, had been named.

Three weeks ago, in Bangkok, I interviewed the driver who was with Ho Sok the day

of his murder. He was not Ho Sok's regular driver but the driver of a friend working

for a foreign NGO in Cambodia, whom, concerned by the events of 5-6 July 1997, sent

his own driver to take Ho Sok to safety, after he was denied safety by the Australian

Ambassador in Phnom Penh.

The driver, whose name for obvious reasons I cannot disclose, told me that they were

driving through Kampuchea Krom boulevard when the car was surrounded by police in

motorbikes. Ho Sok got out of the car and gave the police US$ 200 asking them not

to hurt the driver and then surrendered himself to the police. He did not resist

arrest. The police took the money but also arrested the driver. Ho Sok and the driver

were taken to the Ministry of Interior and placed in adjacent rooms. From his room,

whose door was open, the driver saw the arrival of Lieutenant General Hok Lundy,

chief of the National Police. Soon afterwards he heard a shot being fired and then

the body of Ho Sok was removed. The driver himself was freed a few hours later and

proceeded to escape to Thailand.

When CPP officials deny that Ho Sok was killed by the Chief of the National Police,

they are being economical with the truth. In fact the truth is so well known within

the CPP that during the meeting between the Royal government delegation and His Majesty

the King in Peking, Samdech Chea Sim expressed his profound regret at the murder

and turning towards Hun Sen said "there was no need to kill him"!

Those responsible for Ho Sok's murder will never be punished in the new people's

democracy of Hun Sen and Ung Huot. The so-called investigation of the murders of

Ho Sok and several other Funcinpec officials will go on and on without ever reaching

an outcome, as has happened with the previous investigations of the murder of several

journalists and the grenade attack of 30 March 1997.

Last week, the widow of Ho Sok asked the UN Secretary General to bring charges against

Hun Sen and Hok Lundy for crimes against humanity.

- Julio A. Jeldres, Honorary Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia.