Koh Kong Provincial Court deputy prosecutor Orng Ry has been temporarily transferred to the Ministry of Justice after he was implicated in a sex scandal.

In a viral video posted by TVFB online news agency on the night of July 18, Ry was caught by a woman claiming to be his wife while he brought his alleged mistress to a guesthouse. The video had been shared more than 35,000 times as of Wednesday.

A letter signed by Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana on Wednesday said: “[Orng Ry] must be present at the Ministry of Justice during office hours.”

The Ministry of Justice’s secretary of state and spokesman Chin Malin told The Post on Wednesday that Ry was not being demoted and that the deputy prosecutor will fulfil his tasks as designated by the minister.

“This is a temporary transfer, not a removal from his position and not a punishment either. This is a simple administrative measure in transferring officials from one place to another,” he said.

Malin said the transfer was made to give Ry time while he resolves his marital affair with his wife. He said the ministry will decide whether to reinstate Ry after the issue is cleared.

“This is a private issue between him and his wife, so we will let him resolve it according to the law.

“If he is found to have breached the code of ethics or other crimes [such as debauchery], there could be legal measures taken against him based on actual circumstances. The ministry will take further administrative measures,” he said.

Sok Sam Oeun, the executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project (CDP), said the transfer amounted to punishment. He said while the punishment of civil servants for misconduct was a good sign, he called for comprehensive enforcement of the civil code of ethics.

“I’ve observed that various ministries and institutions, not just the Ministry of Justice, seem to not have a good mechanism in place to punish officials for misconduct,” he said.