Social media celebrity Pheng Vannak was sent to pre-trial detention in Prey Sar prison on Wednesday after being officially charged with “incitement” and “defamation” against Prime Minister Hun Sen over a Facebook post, allegedly linking him to the murder of analyst Kem Ley.
A letter by Phnom Penh Municipal Court Investigating Judge Key Manera outlining the decision and dated Wednesday said Vannak was ordered to be taken to Correctional Centre 1 – commonly known as Prey Sar prison.
“The head of Correctional Centre 1 is ordered to accept and detain this person until receiving a decision different to this. All security forces have to cooperate in the implementation of this order,” the letter states.
Vannak was officially charged on Tuesday with “incitement to commit offences”, and “defamation” after he wrote a message on his “Pheng Vannak News” Facebook page on Friday that was deemed incitement.
His charges correspond to articles 494, 495 and 305 of the Criminal Code.
His arrest and detention came after a lawyer representing Prime Minister Hun Sen lodged a criminal complaint to Phnom Penh Municipal Court accusing him of causing confusion among the public by insinuating that Hun Sen was behind the murder of popular analyst Ley.
Vannak’s Facebook post read: “Lim Chea Yutha [Vutha], CEO of Fresh News and the representative of the leader [Hun Sen], brought $50,000 to give to Dr Kem Ley’s family in order to build a stupa.
“Why didn’t senior minister Pich Sros file a complaint to the Anti-Corruption Unit [ACU]? What is the difference when both [of us] brought other people’s money [for a good cause]?”
“Incitement to commit offences” carries a prison term of between six months and two years, while “defamation” requires the accused to pay a fine and compensation should he be found guilty.
Vannak was a lieutenant colonel at the personnel office of the Ministry of National Defence.
Ministry spokesperson Chhum Socheat on Wednesday said that, as per military procedure, Vannak had been stripped of his rank before being sent to court.
Vannak is facing two further lawsuits. One was filed by Cambodian Youth Party president Pich Sros, who submitted a complaint to the ACU.
Sros requested the ACU to investigate the link between Vannak and the family of a teenager who killed a university scholarship student in a traffic accident last week.
On Tuesday, the ACU responded to Sros, saying it accepted the complaint and was collecting more information before launching a formal investigation.
The second complaint was filed by Fresh News for a comment Vannak made, claiming that the online media outlet received incentives to publish news.