About 100 police officers in Kep have thumbprinted a letter calling for the dismissal of the province’s police chief, Ing Som Ol, whom they accuse of nepotism, bribery and poor management skills.
The letter was sent to Minister of Interior Sar Kheng and National Police chief Neth Savoeun last week.
District and provincial officials accused Ol of taking bribes from two officials whom he planned to promote as deputy police chiefs.
Ol could not be reached for comment.
A provincial police officer, who asked to remain anonymous, said Ol regularly threatened to fire employees for even minor infractions such as spelling mistakes on their police reports.
“He’s too nasty to work with,” the police officer said. “I hope they can remove him.”
And a district police chief, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said Ol belittled employees and had created a hostile work environment.
“I’m not happy with his management style,” he said. “We achieve our work, and he tells us that it’s because of luck not effort . . . I am not against it if he could be moved to other places or whatever, but I just don’t want him to work in this province.”
Yet another provincial police official said he believed that cash played a role in promotions under Ol for less-experienced staffers, although he would not discuss what evidence there was to support the allegations.
Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said he had not seen the request and could not comment.
