Ex-Bodyguard’s Alibi for Murder: Playing Cards
Meas
Sambath, a former bodyguard for disgraced military general Thong
Sarath, took the stand on Monday in the ongoing trial over the 2014
murder of tycoon Ung Meng Chue, testifying that he was playing cards all
day on the day of the hit and did not leave his boss’s office complex.
Mr.
Sambath and four fellow guards were charged with carrying out an
assassination on the orders of Mr. Sarath, whose family also has vast
business holdings including construction firm Borey 999. The general was
charged with instigating the killing and arrested last year after a
monthslong manhunt.
Bodyguards
Sieng Veasna and Ly Sao were both charged with premeditated murder
after police said they admitted to driving to a Phnom Penh fruit store
where Mr. Veasna shot Ung Meng Chue six times as he exited his Lexus SUV
at about 7 p.m. on November 22, 2014.
Ly
Sao died in June of encephalitis. Mr. Sambath, along with fellow
bodyguards Koy Chanthul and Chhun Chetra, were charged as accomplices
for allegedly keeping watch over the scene. The four surviving
bodyguards have since insisted they were innocent and recanted their
confessions.
On the stand on Monday, Mr. Sambath said he had never heard of the victim until a video of his murder was posted to Facebook.
“I
stood by at Borey 999 from early in the morning until 7 p.m.,” he said
of the company’s Phnom Penh office building. “In the morning, we played
card games and then after lunch we continued our game.”
“I did not go anywhere,” he said. “But I don’t know about Sieng Veasna.”
Mr.
Sarath was again absent from the trial on Monday due to ongoing health
problems. Ngy Meng, director of the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital,
confirmed that Mr. Sarath had been in and out of the hospital, but said
he did not know what he was suffering from.
No comments:
Post a Comment