Shooting

THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a diplomatic note to the Thai embassy on Thursday, requesting an investigation into the death of a Cambodian allegedly shot by Thai troops at the border on Monday. “We are not complaining about the Thai government but about the soldiers who opened fire on the Cambodian. We are asking the Thai authorities to arrest the perpetrator and punish them,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said Thursday. According to Cambodian officials, black-uniformed Thai forces opened fire at about 7:20pm on a group of Cambodian villagers while they were allegedly felling trees illegally in Oddar Meanchey province. Sim Bun Chhim, 25, from Chamcar Chek village in Samrong town’s O’Smach commune, was severely injured and died en route to hospital. Three others escaped uninjured. The note refers to the “inhuman act” and calls on Thailand to prevent further atrocities, conduct a thorough investigation and “bring to justice those who committed [this] act of cruelty”.