Drug trafficking suspect ‘kills himself’ in detention
A DRUG trafficking suspect reportedly committed suicide on Wednesday evening while he was held in a detention room at the Kampong Chhnang provincial police headquarters.
Police claimed the Pov Sopheak, 21, had hanged himself and ruled out that he had been tortured by officers. His sudden death, however, prompted rights groups to monitor the case.
Pol Vuthy, the deputy police chief in charge of crime at the provincial headquarters, confirmed that the suspect had hung himself in the detention room where he had been held for less than 24 hours.
Vuthy said Sopheak resided in Village I in Kampong Chhnang town’s Khsam commune.
Prior to hanging himself from the window frame using his own shirt, the suspect had been interrogated over his alleged involvement in trafficking 15 packages of illegal substances, Vuthy told The Post on Thursday.
“When we went over the surveillance cameras installed in the detention room, we did not find any indication that our officers had tortured the deceased. Besides, we could not find any wound on his body apart from the obvious mark around his neck,” he said.
Vuthy detailed that Sopheak had been held in the detention room following his arrest by Kampong Chhnang town police earlier on Wednesday. The provincial headquarters intended to send the man to court the following day.
Kong Chanmony, the provincial coordinator for right groups Licadho, said he acknowledged the unfortunate event and that he and his team were monitoring the case.
“We have yet to come up with any conclusion as we just received the information [of the incident],” he told The Post on Thursday.
Similarly, Adhoc provincial coordinator Sam Chankea said his team would first need to carry out a probe to determine the suspect’s motive.
An attempt to reach the suspect’s family for further comment was unsuccessful.
With respect to Sopheak’s arrest, police impounded 15 packages – 14 small, one big – containing crystal methamphetamine (Ice), a motorbike, mobile phone, debit card, backpack, and kits for packaging illicit drugs, the provincial headquarters’ report dated Wednesday revealed.