The Oddar Meanchey provincial court on Monday placed a Sathapana Bank employee in pre-trial detention at the provincial prison after Trapaing Prasat district police arrested him on Friday for cheating clients out of more than 12 million riel.

Ou Chamroeurn, 31, a credit officer at the Sathapana Bank’s Trapaing Prasat branch, was accused by the bank’s board of directors of “breach of trust” after he was found to have taken 12,350,000 riel ($3,045), with no good reason, from seven clients who had mortgages with the bank.

Hel Chhenghong, the head of the administrative secretariat at the provincial court, told The Post on Monday that Investigating Judge Sim Pichet had ruled to provisionally detain the suspect on charges of fraud.

Provincial court prosecutor Kong Ratana ruled to charge Chamroeurn with “breach of trust” under articles 391 and 392 of the Criminal Code.

Article 391 defines “breach of trust” as having been committed when a person “to the prejudice of other persons misappropriates funds, valuables or any property that was handed over to him or her and that he or she accepted subject to the condition of returning, redelivering, presenting or using them in a specified way”.

According to Article 392, if found guilty, the suspect faces imprisonment of between six months and three years and a fine of between one and six million riel.

Oddar Meanchey provincial police’s head of minor crime Tem Vandy said the plaintiff is a member of staff at Sathapana Bank based in Trapaing Prasat commune.

He said Chamroeun took 12,350,000 riel from seven clients who were repaying the bank through the suspect who worked as a credit agent, but he spent the money on personal expenses.

“Before sending the case to the provincial court, we tried to work with both sides. However, Ou Chamroeun, after confessing that he took over 12 million riel and lost it betting on a football match, said he did not know how to repay the money to the bank,” he said.