The university graduate arrested for threatening the life of Interior Minister Sar Kheng was released from Siem Reap Provincial Prison on Friday after being handed a reduced sentence by the provincial court, police said yesterday.

Prison police official Major Eng Sokha confirmed the release of Tao Savoeun, who had threatened to bomb a graduation ceremony where Kheng would appear, accusing the deputy prime minister of causing a scheduling change that conflicted with his job.

“He was released from prison based on the provincial court’s verdict. He was jailed for the period of one month in prison,” Sokha said.

Savoeun was arrested after posting on Facebook a threat to “place a bomb to kill all of us at once” at the graduation ceremony.

Siem Reap Provincial Court judge Chhun Seiha, who oversaw the case, said yesterday that Savoeun had been sentenced to 15 months in prison, but all but one month of the sentence was suspended after Savoeun confessed and apologised to Kheng, saying he had never intended to make good on his threat.