Cambodia: Former Cambodian Police Chief Sentenced To 14 More Years In Prison

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: A Cambodian court sentenced a former police chief to 14 more years in prison for possession of counterfeit currency after he was slapped with a 26-year term for other crimes, a prosecutor said Thursday (July 19th).

Former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Peo, 49, was already serving a 26-year sentence after being convicted of several crimes, including ordering the assassination of a judge in 2003 and illegal possession of weapons, said prosecutor Sok Kallyan.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court Judge Chey Sovann sentenced Heng Peo on Wednesday (July 18th). His wife Ngin Sotheavy, 39, who is living in exile in Finland, was also sentenced in absentia to 13 years in prison on the same charge.

Police seized US$30,000 in counterfeit U.S. currency in a raid of the couple's house in July last year, the prosecutor said.

Heng Peo was once in the inner circle of Cambodia's strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen.

After fleeing Cambodia in July last year, Heng Peo sought refuge in Malaysia, but was deported in December after losing a court battle to stay there while seeking asylum in another country. (AP)