Heng Pov

Heng Pov, also transliterated as Heng Peo, Heng Peov, Heng Poev, and Heng Pouv (December 1, 1957 in Kandal Province, Cambodia) was the Undersecretary of State and an assistant to the Minister of the Interior of Cambodia, as well as police commissioner of the city of Phnom Penh, and a personal advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Heng Pov was shot in the leg while on police duty in 1992, and his left leg was amputated. In July 2006, while he was in Malaysia for medical treatment on his leg stump, Cambodian officials announced that he was wanted on a variety of charges, including corruption, possession of illegal weapons, involvement in several high-profile murders, and possession of counterfeit currency. Heng Pov responded by seeking refugee status in Malaysia, and by releasing a lengthy statement accusing several high-profile Cambodian officials, including National Police Commissioner Hok Lundy, of corruption and involvement in several high-profile murders.

While Malaysian officials were considering Heng Pov's refugee claim, Cambodian officials tried and convicted him "in absentia"; Cambodian Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith said "if (he) says he knows about crimes within the government, it means he is an accomplice to these crimes. So he has no right to seek political asylum." [http://www.phnompenhpost.com/TXT/current/stories/1517/heng.htm]

In December 2006, Finland announced that it was willing to grant Heng Pov refugee status; instead, Malaysia deported him to Cambodia, where he was arrested and sentenced to multiple life sentences.

External links

* [http://www.mfaic.gov.kh/newsdetail.php?contentid=2120 Official statement by the Cambodian government on the Finnish reaction to Heng Pov's deportation]
* [http://ia311543.us.archive.org/1/items/HengPoevStatementofHengPoev/Statement_of_Heng_Peov.pdf PDF of Heng Pov's statement] at Archive.org (requires Acrobat Reader)
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070128212659/http://www.hengpeo.com/ Heng Pov's official website] (via Archive.org)
* [http://www.phnompenhpost.com/TXT/current/stories/1517/heng.htm Feature on Heng Pov] at the Phnom Penh Post