A military officer, implicated in the shooting of a Mondulkiri provincial forestry official, has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the crime, police said yesterday.

Sves Krya, 35, was arrested on Monday while crossing the Thailand-Cambodia border at Poipet in Banteay Meanchey province, according to Sou Sovann, Mondulkiri deputy provincial police chief.

“Krya was a soldier, but he has already been fired. We have the arrest warrant, but he was not the shooter. He was just a subordinate who threw the gun away,” Sovann said.

Heng Chantra, deputy director of the Forestry Administration in Mondulkiri’s Sen Monorom town, was shot at three times on the night of July 4 while on a routine forest patrol, sustaining injuries to his left arm.

Len Komrey, a 37-year-old timber dealer, and Pom Peurn, 48, the editor of Borey Angkor Media, were both held by police and sent to the provincial court on suspicion of carrying out the attack and hiding the weapon, though it is still unclear which was the actual shooter.

The suspects in July claimed they shot the victim because they were angry he had addressed them without lowering his car door’s window.

According to Sovann, Komrey and Peurn were drunk on the night of the shooting. After the incident, they drove to Krya’s house to hide the gun, before making their getaway.

Shortly afterwards, their relatives visited Krya’s house to pick up their ditched car, and someone working for Krya disposed of the gun, he added.

“We are seeking evidence, but we do not know where the gun is. Krya was charged with diverting or destroying the evidence, but the court may find other charges,” he said.

Krya was sent to court on Tuesday, where provincial deputy prosecutor Sou Sovichea is overseeing the case and court president Yar Narin is acting as presiding judge.

Krya will remain in pretrial detention until the court has set a date to hear the case against him.

Sovichea could not confirm the specific charges filed against Krya yesterday.