Dear Editor,

I am writing this letter to clarify facts in an article The Phnom Penh Post published under the title “Foreign paedophile brags about freedom at a price” (August 12).

The article stated that officials of Preah Sihanouk Province First Court had taken a bribe worth thousands of dollars in exchange for the release of a 65-year-old Dutch suspect who had been detained by the court since April 2010.

Publishing such a statement based only on the sensational claims of one source has seriously affected the honour and dignity of the officials of Preah Sihanouk Province First Court at a time when they are actively fighting corruption under the Anticorruption Law.

I would like to explain that the Dutch man’s case is still in the interrogation stage, and the suspect is also still in detention. On June 8, 2010, the Dutch suspect applied to the court for release on bail, but the request was rejected by the interrogating judge in a warrant numbered 542 TPD/10, released on July 13, 2010. There is no evidence that shows officials took a bribe in exchange for the release of the Dutch man.

Mong Munichakriya

Preah Sihanouk First Court President

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