A Nimith commune police officer in Banteay Meanchey province was sent to court on Monday after a shooting left a 21-year-old man seriously injured.

Provincial deputy police chief Sith Los said Rithy Piseth, who holds the rank of commune deputy police chief, was arrested on Friday night.

The victim, Neang Makara, filed a complaint accusing the officer of attempted murder.

In the complaint, Makara said he was riding a motorbike home when the officer opened fire from behind.

During questioning, Piseth denied the shooting, claiming that the gun had discharged while he was carrying out an operation to identify drug suspects in the village.

While on duty, he said two men stopped on a motorbike. He and Makara exchanged words and a scuffle ensued causing his gun to go off accidently.

“The suspect is referred to court for further legal procedure,” Los said.

The victim’s father, Nuon Voah, 49, told The Post on Monday that on the night of the incident his son had scuffled with the police.

He said Makara had seen the suspect stop a motorbike ridden by two fellow villagers. His son asked Piseth if they had done anything wrong and asked to return home.

Piseth then yelled at Makara, saying: “If you have the guts, get off the motorbike.”

Voah said his son did not reply and attempted to ride his motorbike home. But just as he had ridden some 2m from the scene, Piseth opened fire.

“My son is suffering from a back injury and a bullet is lodged in his belly. Doctors removed the bullet, but the wound hasn’t healed. He is still being treated at a hospital in Banteay Meanchey province,” he said.

He said a relative of the officer called him to offer compensation in exchange for not filing a court complaint but his family rejected the offer.

Provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc Sum Chankea told The Post on Monday that while both sides can discuss compensation to terminate civil actions outside the court, the case cannot be dropped as it is a criminal case.

“For now, we are monitoring the police implementation of procedure on this case because we’ve received a complaint from the victim’s family requesting legal aid. They demand justice,” he said.

Provincial court spokesman Teng Samai said the case is in hands of a prosecutor and the suspect was being questioned.