The Star Early Edition

US blacklists Cambodia PM’s guard

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PHNOM PENH: The United States has imposed sanctions on the commander of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguards, accusing him of using force to menace opponents for decades. He is the first member of the leader’s inner circle to be blackliste­d by Washington.

General Hing Bun Hieng, head of the Prime Minister Bodyguard Unit, was sanctioned for “being the leader of an entity involved in serious human rights abuse”, the US Treasury Department said

“Bun Hieng and the unit have been connected to incidents where military force was used to menace protesters and the political opposition going back at least to 1997, including an incident where a US citizen received shrapnel wounds,” the department said.

Hing Bun Hieng was not available for comment but an assistant said: “He spends money on building schools, roads and pagodas, so let the US freeze these funds so students and monks can’t have that.”

The sanctions, imposed under a 2012 law known as the Magnitsky Act, block any property or interest in property held by the general within US jurisdicti­on.

It also prohibits US citizens from engaging in transactio­ns with Hing Bun Hieng.

Cambodia’s Defence Ministry condemned the sanctions as a “rude action”. The sanctionin­g of a Hun Sen loyalist comes amid increasing­ly strained relations between the United States and Cambodia. – Reuters

 ?? PICTURE: HENG SINITH/AP ?? Hing Bun Hieng, left, the general in command of VIP bodyguards for Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, right.
PICTURE: HENG SINITH/AP Hing Bun Hieng, left, the general in command of VIP bodyguards for Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, right.

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