Twenty police officers stripped of their ranks

THE Ministr y of Interior announced t hat 20 officers from the Phnom Penh municipa l police headquarters had been stripped of t heir ranks and would soon be removed from the National Police framework on grounds t hat they had abandoned t heir jobs.

In a directive dated Monday and signed by Interior Minister Sar Kheng, t he ministr y announced t hat sa lar y and benefits for t he 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 f rom 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 ever y month, but usually we did it on a smaller sca le, t hus 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 t heir job and became police officers for the benefit of t heir business.

This t y pe of of ficers, he said, tended to cause problems in societ y and tarnished the i mage of other officers who actua lly performed t heir jobs wit h a high degree of responsibilit y.

Affiliated Network for Socia l Accountabilit y executive director San Chey argued that many police officers did not get motivation through promotion in an equitable manner even after ser v ing 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.