The 31-year-old man who was detained for throwing stones at Prime Minister Hun Sen’s residence has been released after it was confirmed that he suffered from a mental disorder, according to his mother, Hean Teang.
She said: “He was released by the police. They accepted that he suffered from an illness after we provided them with a letter from a certified psychiatrist and our village and commune chiefs.
“We are grateful for his release, and now we have the opportunity to treat my son. If we ignore him any longer, his illness will intensify.”
Daun Penh district police detained the man for questioning on Wednesday after he lobbed stones at the Prime Minister’s residence near Independence Monument in the capital’s Chaktomuk commune.
Teang said her son had attempted to meet Hun Sen on several occasions but was refused access by the Prime Minister’s security.
“He said he wanted to meet with Samdech [Hun Sen] because he thought Hun Sen was a god. He said that the only man he [wished] to meet was Samdech,” she said.
She also expressed remorse over her son’s actions and said she would take him to the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital to treat his disorder.
Teang said her son had begun showing symptoms of his illness more than two years ago and was successfully prescribed medication to treat it – only to have a more severe relapse two months ago.
Monitoring manager for rights group Licadho Am Sam Ath commended police officials for helping the distraught mother. He also expressed hope that the young man’s family would take advantage of his release and provide him with proper medical care.
“Daun Penh district authorities made the right decision by releasing the man . . . his family and neighbours verified that he suffered from a mental disorder so he could not be held accountable for his actions or be imprisoned,” Sam Ath said.
Neither district police chief Teang Chansa nor Phnom Penh police chief Sar Thet could not be reached for comment.
However, National Police deputy chief Dy Vichea previously said that the man had asked his mother for money so that he could travel to Thailand for treatment but she had refused.
Vichea said the young man had travelled to the prime minister’s home in an attempt to get his mother’s attention so that he could finally be taken to a hospital.
