• Politics

Arrest Traffic Accident Suspects, PM Tells Police

• By Meng Seavmey
• December 21, 2023 7:30 PM

PHNOM PENH – Prime Minister Hun Manet has ordered national police to detain on the spot anyone suspected of causing a traffic accident.

“If the victim, witness, and evidence are there, you are allowed to get them on the spot. Don’t wait for instructions,” he said on Dec. 21 at the summary report on Ministry of Environment’s achievement in 2023 and Directions for 2024.

“If they protest, cuff their hands. No need to wait for the commissioner’s order. Even a police officer is allowed to arrest them. If the victim is there, the evidence is there, and the suspect is there, so do it. No need to wait,” he added.

Manet told the police not to fear any individual’s status with him protecting them. Instead of approving the suspension or demotion for practicing the law correctly, he will promote those police.

The Prime Minister promised to “take action against the senior officers who punish subordinates for doing it right.”

Hun Manet said officers should not wait until social media users react. They should act accordingly when the accident happens.

The order followed recent traffic accidents in which drivers were not arrested on the spot for causing deaths. The scenes sparked a big wave of criticism on social media from the public who demanded fair punishment for those causing the accidents.

On Dec. 14, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court ordered a man to turn himself in following a deadly car accident caused by a Jeep Overland killing another man on a motorcycle in Phnom Penh. The perpetrator’s family offered $1,000 to the victim’s family at his funeral as compensation but they refused it.

The victim’s family is standing firm for the lawsuit against the car owner. The Justice Ministry issued an arrest warrant on Dec. 19 to bring the suspect to the prosecutor's office if he refuses to hand himself in before Jan. 9.