The Ministry of Interior announced that 20 officers from the Phnom Penh municipal police headquarters had been stripped of their ranks and would soon be removed from the National Police framework on grounds that they had abandoned their jobs.

In a directive dated Monday and signed by Interior Minister Sar Kheng, the ministry announced that salary and benefits for the 20 officers – whose ranks ranged from second lieutenants, first lieutenants to captains – have been discontinued and that they will be removed from the National Police framework from August onwards.

Phnom Penh municipal police chief Sar Thet could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

National Police spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun said such dismissal of police officers was not the first case for the institution.

“We have sacked officers many times, maybe every month, but usually we did it on a smaller scale, thus it was barely noticeable. But when 20 officers are sacked at the same time, people are surprised,” he said.

Kim Khoeun said that civil servants and soldiers would also be removed from their respective frameworks should they fail to comply with their duties and lack discipline.

When asked if he knew the figure of how many officers have been removed from the National Police framework so far, he could not provide an answer, citing a “lack of data” on his end.

However, he said some people left their job and became police officers for the benefit of their business.

This type of officers, he said, tended to cause problems in society and tarnished the image of other officers who actually performed their jobs with a high degree of responsibility.

Affiliated Network for Social Accountability executive director San Chey argued that many police officers did not get motivation through promotion in an equitable manner even after serving many years.

He said those officers could choose to give up their job and find a new one that they think can help support their families better.

“We still hear some officers complaining that they had worked hard but did not get any motivation. If there was a system that prepares, manages and makes an evaluation of promotion properly, inactivity and wrong conduct could be avoided,” Chey said.