Almost 120 Anti-Corruption Unit officers were inducted into their new jobs yesterday and swore an oath to “fulfill their tasks” or risk a gory death, which an official said would help ensure their integrity.

The 117 officials will join different departments of the ACU, said National Anti-Corruption Council official Ly Narun, who explained that their oaths would “awake the conscience” when it comes to investigating corruption.

Narun said this was the third batch of officials recruited since the ACU was created in 2010, taking the total number to 217. “We are Buddhists and we should realise the word ‘swear’ reflects our commitment, and also requires us to be honest, fair, not lie or deceive,” he said.

The ACU has been frequently criticised by the opposition and groups like Transparency International for its involvement in pursuing politically motivated cases, as illustrated by its heavy involvement in the investigation into opposition leader Kem Sokha’s alleged sex scandal.

Still, inductee La Raksmeyvong, 27, insisted that taking an oath asking the gods to kill him by “gunshots, lightning strikes, a car crash, tiger bites [or] snake bites” and for him to suffer in the next life if he did wrong would strengthen his ethical resolve.