Opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Chan Cheng quietly returned to Cambodia yesterday after fleeing to France more than two months ago following his implication in aiding and abetting a prison escape.

Chan Cheng, who had his parliamentary immunity stripped in December last year over the allegations, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Fellow SRP lawmaker Eng Chhay Eang confirmed he had arrived in Cambodia yesterday morning, but did not want to talk with journalists.

“He did not escape; he went to complete his mission. So when that mission was finished, he has to return,” Eng Chhay Eang said, without revealing further details of the “mission” in France, where SRP president Sam Rainsy is also in exile to escape a prison sentence.

“Journalists have always said that Chan Cheng had escaped, but he did not escape,” Eng Chhay Eang added.