Accused Kem Ley killer not cooperating: ministry

Police stand next to Oeut Ang earlier this month at the Phnom Penh Municipal Police headquarters after he was arrested for the murder of political analyst Kem Ley. Photo supplied

Oeut Ang, 44, the alleged killer of political analyst Kem Ley, is not answering investigators’ questions and has refused to acknowledge his parents, according to a senior Interior Ministry official.

“The perpetrator did not answer anything and did not recognise his parents,” Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak told local news outlet Kampuchea Thmey yesterday.

Sopheak, who could not be contacted by the Post yesterday, also said the security camera footage from the Phnom Penh petrol station where Ley was shot on July 10 had been sent to court and would be released once the investigation was completed, though he did not provide a time frame.

In a video released by police, Ang called himself Choub Samlab or “meet to kill”, and initially “confessed” to killing Ley because he owed Ang $3,000; however, interviews with the suspect’s wife, mother and neighbours have cast some doubt over that motive.

Contact author: Mech Dara

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