A PROSECUTOR in Kampot provincial court has asked the Appeal Court to override a decision by a provincial judge to release a man accused of firing a gun at a couple staying at a guesthouse on April 17.

“I think it was legally wrong that he failed to take action in the gunshot case,” the prosecutor, Chun Saban, said Thursday.

“Therefore, by law, I have the right to file an appeal against him.”

He said the suspect had been briefly detained and then released on the night of the incident, and that no investigation had ever been initiated.

The judge, Chuon Vannak, could not be reached on Thursday.

Sem Hoeun, chief of the security office at Kampot’s military police station, said Thursday that the “gunshot incident” had occurred at the Heng Reaksmey guesthouse in Kampot town’s Anduong Khmer commune. He declined to identify the shooter, but said the incident was spurred by “romantic jealousy”.

He added that he no longer had any role in the case.

“Whether the court takes action or not is the court’s responsibility,” he said.