A senior Ministry of Interior official on March 10 sent a letter to the Stung Treng Provincial Administration deploring a recent warning against a deputy district police chief who breastfed her baby in public while on duty.

Chou Bun Eng, head of the ministry’s gender working group and permanent vice-chair of the National Committee for Counter Trafficking, said she was disappointed that Siem Pang district police had made Sithong Sokha – the district deputy police chief in charge of public order – sign a letter promising to stop the practice.

“As a woman having to shoulder both professional and parental responsibilities … [Sokha] should have been admired for her willingness to fulfil such heavy duties despite hardship,” Bun Eng said.

Sokha told The Post she had posted her breastfeeding photo on Facebook on March 2 just to demonstrate a mother’s good heart and not to discredit her institution or undermine the dignity of Cambodian women.