The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) allege that Lieutenant Colonel Sok Songha, head of the Takeo anti-drug crimes office, has accepted bribes for at least four years. FB
The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) has revealed that Lieutenant Colonel Sok Songha, head of the Anti-Drug Crimes Office at the Takeo Provincial Police Headquarters, who was recently detained by the court, had been accepting bribes from drug traffickers for at least four years.
The Takeo provincial court originally stated that Songha, 38, had committed crimes of bribery and abuse of power in Takeo Province between 2023 and 2024.
It alleged that he took under-the-table payments from a drug trafficker identified as Sok Kea, also known as Seng Sokkea, aged 36. Sok Kea is currently detained in Kandal Provincial Prison.
According to the ACU, Songha had been accepting bribes from Sok Kea for four years, not the two mentioned in the court statement.
It added that the bribes were reportedly in exchange for not prosecuting drug cases, not taking action to arrest individuals with court-issued warrants, downgrading trafficking charges from severe to minor and reclassifying some traffickers as mere drug users.
Additionally, while enforcing traffic laws, Songha allegedly demanded payment from individuals found with traces of drugs in their system, according to the ACU.
The ACU did not disclose how much money Songha was alleged to have received over the four year period.
The unit further stated that, aside from bribery, Songha committed other offenses, including abuse of power, destroying drug evidence, disregarding legal procedures, acting without authorisation from prosecutors and building clandestine networks or secret informants, without permission.
The Ministry of Interior previously issued a directive which outlines the “3 Don'ts, 1 Report” guidelines, which include: Do not engage, do not interfere, do not relax enforcement, and report all drug-related cases.
Yong Kim Eng, president of the People Center for Development and Peace, noted that as the number of drug-related cases appears to be high, the rate of corruption among law enforcement officials may also be high.
He encouraged the government to intensify its anti-drug efforts to eliminate both drug-related crimes and corruption among law enforcement officials involved in such cases.
