The former deputy executive committee chief of the Supreme Court-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in Tbong Khmum province was placed in pre-trial detention on Tuesday, a day after he was arrested for incitement for comments levelled at Prime Minister Hun Sen on Facebook.

Tbong Khmum deputy provincial police chief Prak Bun Non said Sou Yean was detained on Monday after an arrest warrant was issued by a provincial court prosecutor. He added that Yean was sent to Tbong Khmum prison on Tuesday afternoon.

According to the warrant issued by provincial court prosecutor Long Hok Meng, Yean had a complaint filed against him for “incitement to commit a felony” after his Saturday Facebook post.

Reached by The Post on Tuesday, prosecutor Hok Meng confirmed the charge but declined to comment further.

Seng Seangly, the former CNRP executive director for Tbong Khmum, said on Tuesday that Yean was the party’s deputy chief of the executive committee in the province. He said he did not know why Yean had been arrested.

Yean’s post spread on Facebook said Hun Sen never kept his promises, such as his vows to protect the Kingdom’s forests and fight corruption.

However, the sentence that was deemed incitement said: “Hun Sen is just blind in one eye, while his supporters are blind in both eyes, and deaf too.”

Yean’s words drew anger from many supporters of Hun Sen, including Pankhem Bunthan, deputy chief of the prime minister’s cabinet.

“I saw the message spread on Facebook on Saturday and it was too much. As a Cambodian citizen who has supported the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen for more than 40 years, should I stand for this language?

“I do not discriminate against people with disabilities and I am a good person. The insult offends not only me but all supporters of Prime Minister Hun Sen. So, as a representative of Hun Sen’s supporters, I filed complaint against [Yean],” Bunthan said.