The Senate issued a statement yesterday distancing the body’s president, Say Chhum, from its purchase of 63 tonnes of rice from ABC Radio, whose owner Seng Bunveng recently came under fire for calling journalists “thieves”.

The statement was released in response to citizens’ comments on Facebook, and clarified that the rice purchase was made by the Senate’s secretariat and not by Chhum.

Bunveng, who goes by the nickname Aja A, courted controversy when his radio station branded journalists as thieves and extortionists, resulting in a petition being delivered to the Ministry of Interior by angry journalists.

“ABC Company is the supplier of the rice,” the statement reads. “If the owner has a conflict with anybody, it is his matter and not related to the buyer [the Senate].”

The statement also said the buying of the rice was not an endorsement for Aja A’s views, and that the body always remained impartial.

On September 27, ABC Radio’s Facebook page posted a message claiming that Say Chhum, the Senate’s secretariat and staff had purchased the rice from ABC.