Police Officer Questioned Over Suspects’ Escape

Three suspected drug dealers who escaped a holding cell at a Phnom Penh police station on Tuesday night are still at large, while the police officer on duty at the time of their escape remained under questioning, deputy municipal police chief Pen Roth said yesterday. “Although a team of municipal anti-drug police have not yet rearrested the three men, we are working hard to catch them and continuous to investigate how they managed to cut through the bars of their cell,” Mr. Roth said. Seng Vannak, 35; Kom Phearin, 27; and Long Pitu, 30, were arrested on Saturday in possession of nine bags of methamphetamines. On Tuesday, Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged the men with drug dealing and sent them back to their holding cell with the intention if transferring them to Prey Sar Prison the following day. Following the escape, the municipal anti-drug police officer on duty, Chet Khemara, was detained for questioning, but it is not clear if he helped facilitate the men’s escape, Mr. Roth said. Mr. Khemara claimed during questioning that he had stepped away from his post to take a bath when the men escaped, a police source said.