A Phnom Penh Candlelight official was assaulted on Sunday and sustained a serious head injury, with CCTV footage showing potentially six assailants.
Nol Pongthearith, a Candlelight deputy in charge of its Pur Senchey district office, was hit on the head by unknown motorists near the party’s headquarters in the district on Saturday, said party president Thach Setha.
Setha added that six assailants on three motorcycles followed Pongthearith at 8 a.m. when one jumped off the motorcycle and struck him with a knife. Setha said the assailants should be arrested and convicted to prevent any similar incidents in the future.
“All relevant institutions, especially the Ministry of Interior, must investigate and arrest the perpetrators and those behind them in order to gain the trust of the people and to avoid political violence before the election,” he said.
A video of the incident, shared by the party, shows the three motorcycles with six passengers following a motorcycle with only a driver, which is turning onto a street that is out of frame. As they are turning in, one of the passengers jumps off the motorcycle and rushes at the first motorcycle and slashes at the driver. The three motorcycles then leave the site.
Photos of Pongthearith’s Facebook account show a deep gash on his head with people trying to stop the bleeding.
Pongthearith told VOD that he had to get 12 stitches for the cut, and also suffered injuries to his neck and right shoulder. He filed a complaint to Choam Chao III commune police, but he believed it was politically motivated.
“I only think about my social work, job and my party, I have never had any disputes about businesses, or with friends drinking or arguing,” he said. “This violence is purely political because I am an official of the Candlelight Party.”
Pongthearith had allegedly been beaten in April 2020 and fled the country after, according to a post from the coalition Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights.
Choam Chao III commune police chief Sok Socheat said police had identified motorbike license plate numbers for the suspects, and they were investigating and “are building a case and checking all evidence and sending it to the district [authorities] now.”
Interior Ministry spokesperson Khieu Sopheak said the victim should cooperate with authorities to solve the case, but he said it was unlikely to be solved if the case was political, blaming opposition leaders for publicizing these cases.
“If the victim is an official of the Candlelight Party, [the perpetrator] may not be found, why?” Sopheak asked. “Because the Candlelight Party does not give us real information. … In general, when there is a problem, the Candlelight Party says that they’re threatened because of politics and tell the reporters. When they tell VOD or tell CTN, they will not find [the perpetrator].”
