Official Says Son Taken by Past In-Law

The alleged mastermind of the recent kidnapping of an Interior Ministry official’s son was a former in-law of the victim, the victim’s father said yesterday. He added that the suspect, a former deputy national police commissioner who lives in France, had been driven by revenge and greed. Sau Arnaud, the son of Interior Ministry Undersecretary of State Sau Phan, was kidnapped last month as he drove across the Japanese Friendship Bridge, and was held for about two weeks before being released. Former Funcinpec Deputy National Police commissioner Nguon Soeur is being accused of masterminding the kidnapping. He left the police force in the late 1990s to live in France, where he is now believed to be hiding after receiving a $400.000 ransom from the family. Mr Phan said his son, Mr Arnaud, who also lives in France, used to be married to Mr Soeur’s daughter until they divorced 10 years ago. “My son’s kidnapping case was due to revenge, jealousy, but especially he [Mr Soeur] wanted money,” he said. “I heard from my colleagues that they saw Soeur in Phnom Penh [during the kidnapping], but I did not focus on him at that time because we [were] so worried about my son.” Police arrested one man, Suth Sothy, last week on suspicion of being the driver, and have since been looking for five more suspects. Colonel Kheng Tito, spokesman for the national military police, said police now planned to cooperate with the French Embassy in order to pursue Mr Soeur. “We hope to arrest all the suspects ...and we also cooperated closely with a French Embassy attache to work out this case,” he said. Mr Tito added that Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday had ordered Mr Sothy, the suspected driver, to be jailed awaiting his trial.