Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Ex-deputy PM flees after threat

Ex-deputy PM flees after threat

Ex-Funcinpec Deputy Prime Minister Lu Lay Sreng, seen in a photo posted to his Facebook page yesterday, fled the country a day after Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to sue him over comments made in a leaked phone call.
Ex-Funcinpec Deputy Prime Minister Lu Lay Sreng, seen in a photo posted to his Facebook page yesterday, fled the country a day after Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to sue him over comments made in a leaked phone call. Facebook

Ex-deputy PM flees after threat

Former Deputy Prime Minister and ex-Funcinpec official Lu Lay Sreng left the country for Thailand yesterday morning, the day after the royalist party and Prime Minister Hun Sen vowed to file lawsuits against him for disparaging the King and accusing the government of bribing Funcinpec.

A senior official at Phnom Penh International Airport, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed that he saw Lay Sreng leaving the country.

The official speculated that the reason for the departure – at just after 6am – may have been for medical reasons, though the timing raises questions. He added that Lay Sreng was not on a no-fly list.

The former deputy prime minister found himself in hot water after a private telephone conversation with former party official Ky Lum Ang was leaked by the anonymous anti-opposition Facebook user “Seiha”.

In the recording, he calls King Norodom Sihamoni a “castrated chicken” and Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh an “idiot prince”. Lay Sreng also accused Funcinpec of taking $1 million from Hun Sen in exchange for the party agreeing to take the Cambodia National Rescue Party’s National Assembly seats if the main opposition party is dissolved.

Hun Sen and Funcinpec immediately announced plans to sue Lay Sreng, who is also the former minister of rural development, despite the fact that the law clearly states defamation only applies to comments made in public.

Representatives of Funcinpec and of the premier said the lawsuits would go forward as planned.

“[The lawsuit] will keep going. We won’t back down. That’s his private matter, we don’t forbid him [from leaving],” said Nheb Bun Chin, spokesman for Funcinpec.

Bun Chin and Ky Tech, Hun Sen’s lawyer, both said they plan to file the respective complaints today.

Lay Sreng is one of many political figures to flee the country in recent months, including a slew of CNRP officials. CNRP Deputy President Mu Sochua also absconded after being warned of her imminent arrest by a senior government official.

Analyst Lao Mong Hay said yesterday that critics and opposition figures feel they have no recourse for justice in Cambodia.

“This has been well known all along,” he said, pointing to a 2014 quote in which the former UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights said the courts are “a tool of the executive”.

“The level of tolerance [of criticism] seems to be lower and lower,” he said.

Additional reporting by Andrew Nachemson

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Ream base allegations must end, urges official

    A senior government official urges an end to the allegations and suspicions surrounding the development of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, now that Prime Minister Hun Manet has addressed the issue on the floor of the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA 78). Jean-Francois Tain, a geopolitical

  • CP denied registration documents by ministry

    The Ministry of Interior will not reissue registration documents to the Candlelight Party (CP). Following a September 21 meeting between ministry secretary of state Bun Honn and CP representatives, the ministry cited the fact that there is no relevant law which would authorise it to do

  • Manet touches down in Beijing for high-level meetings

    Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on September 14 for his first official visit to China, where he is slated to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and meet other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon his arrival, Manet laid a wreath at the Monument