Kampot's provincial police chief is under fire for allegations of corruption and nepotism made by his staff after he allegedly appointed family members to high-ranking positions in the local police force.

According to a Kampot police official, who refused to be named, police chief Thlang Phirin handpicked his brother Buth Mony and his daughter Rin Kanha to become Kampong Trach district’s police chief and Kampot provincial police’s deputy chief of the finance office, respectively.

Several Kampot province police officers have filed complaints, the official said.

“Some officers joined the police force a long time ago and they have never been promoted. I joined in 1992 and hold a bachelor’s degree yet I’m still a normal cop.”

Phirin confirmed yesterday that he appointed his brother and daughter to the positions.

However, he said the nepotistic allegations are baseless.

The appointments, he said, were based on the individuals’ capacity to perform the job.

“How is this nepotism? How is this corruption?” Phirin said. “These accusations are just from a partisan group in the provincial police.”

According to Phirin, he is not afraid of facing the law if found guilty of nepotism or corruption.

“I am chief but I cannot decide everything as I wish,” Phirin said. “We should let the investigators decide whether this is a [real] accusation or not.”