PP police drug testing to start when ‘enough kits’
PHNOM Penh Municipal Police chief Sar Thet said on Monday that he has not set the date to introduce drug testing for officers under his command, but that it will happen “as soon as the force has enough kits for the test”.
Thet took to Facebook on Monday, urg i ng a l l pol ice of f icers to st ay clean and away from narcotics. He also stressed that the planned urine testing would be introduced to officers not only at t he municipal level but a lso in lower positions.
The test, he said, will be implemented as a testament that the police represent the public as law enforcement and are role models for the people.
Speaking to The Post, Thet said no such test had been done in the past, reiterating t hat it would “def initely happen in the near future”.
“I have lots of work – t herefore, I have not set the schedule. We’ve said it before, so we will [def initely] do it,” he said.
Thet also made a similar statement on March 25, regarding the implementation of drug testing for his subordinates. The move, he said at the time, would be a bid to stamp out police involvement in drug crimes.
Similarly, he told The Post that no date had been set for t he test, but it would be i nt roduced “wit h i n a n acceptable timeframe”.
Thet had said he did not believe many of h is of f icers were usi ng drugs because they needed to pass drug tests before they could join the police force.
His statement came after Interior Minister Sar Kheng a week earlier had ordered a l l pol ice of f icers to carr y out t heir responsibilities professiona lly and without corruption. They must not become involved in t ra f f ick i ng, dist r ibut i ng or sel l i ng drugs, he had said.
Sar Kheng’s warning came after Phnom Penh police found nearly 50kg of drugs during a raid at the Rock Enterta inment Centre owned by busi nessma n K it h Thea ng. The resulting investigation found police implicated in the drugs ring, with an arrest warrant issued for one officer.
Affiliated Network for Social Accountability executive director San Chey told The Post on Monday that the implementation of the drug test would allow the police to become role models for the people.
Meanwhile in Banteay Meanchey, prov i ncia l Mi l it a r y Pol ic e c ommander Born Bin said his force has already been implementing such a test for over 10 years.
“The officers found to have used drugs have been and will be immediately fired from their position without a second chance,” he said.
The Post’s attempt to reach national Military Police spokesman Eng Hy was, however, unsuccessful.