Oeut Ang (centre), the former soldier convicted in 2017 of murdering political analyst Kem Ley, is escorted outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Heng Chivoan
The Supreme Court on Wednesday postponed the hearing of Oeut Ang, the former soldier convicted in 2017 of murdering political analyst Kem Ley in Phnom Penh, because he did not have a defence lawyer.
Oeut Ang, who in past court appearances has repeatedly given his name as “Choub Samlab”, or “meet to kill” – was sentenced to life in prison on March 23, 2017, after being found guilty of shooting Kem Ley dead at a petrol station cafe on Monivong Boulevard on July 10, 2016.
Presiding Judge Kong Srim said in court that the case was scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, but it could not proceed without Ang having legal representation.
Because it is a criminal case, he said, the law required the presence of a defence lawyer.
However, during the hearing, Ang told the judge he could not afford representation and requested the Supreme Court to find a defence lawyer for him.
Srim said the case had been filed to the Supreme Court by lawyer Lor Kim Ghech, but he was not the defence lawyer in this case.
Kim Ghech told The Post on Wednesday that he had previously acted for Ang at the Appeal Court, which upheld the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s 2017 verdict. After losing that appeal, Kim Ghech said, Ang declined to engage him again as his defence lawyer.
“After the Appeal Court’s decision to uphold the verdict [of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court], the convict asked me to file an appeal to the Supreme Court, but I am not his defence lawyer at the Supreme Court,” he said.
Ang was found guilty of shooting Ley, an outspoken critic of the government, twice at point blank range in broad daylight just after 9am as he enjoyed his regular morning coffee at a Caltex petrol station cafe.
The murder was captured on CCTV, along with footage of Ang’s flight from the scene on foot through the streets of Phnom Penh.
Following his arrest, Ang told the police that the killing was motivated by an unpaid debt of $3,000 which Ley owed him – but there were suspicions the murder was politically motivated.
A revised date for the next hearing has not yet been determined.
