Heng Pov wants to swap evidence of official corruption in Cambodia involving bribery, drug smuggling and murder for acceptance as political refugee to Australia
Chim
Former Cambodian police chief seeks asylum in Australia
AP
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - A former police chief and adviser to
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday he had pleaded with
Australia to grant him political asylum.
Heng Pov, former police commissioner of Cambodia's capital of Phnom
Penh, is in hiding after fleeing Cambodia, where he is wanted in
connection with two assassinations and three attempted murders.
He claims to have evidence of official corruption in Cambodia involving
bribery, drug smuggling and murder and wants Canberra to accept him as
a political refugee. His wife and family have been placed under house
arrest in Phnom Penh and his assets were seized, Heng Pov's Australian
lawyer David Chen said Monday.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer's office confirmed Monday that Heng
Pov's letter requesting ministerial intervention had been received and
would be considered.
Heng Pov requested Downer's intervention after the Australian High
Commission in Singapore last week turned him away, insisting he apply
for asylum through the U.N. High Commission for Refugees.
"I'm in hiding and I cannot tell you where I am at this stage because
I'm worried about my life," Heng Pov told Australian Associated Press
in Canberra by telephone Monday.
Heng Pov fled to Singapore on July 23 from Cambodia where he is wanted
by police for allegedly masterminding the April 2003 murder of a judge.
Heng Pov was also linked to the killing of a Singaporean man in
Cambodia and three other failed assassination attempts.
In a prepared statement, Heng Pov said he was innocent of the charges.
Heng Pov served as the Phnom Penh police chief until 2005, when he was
promoted to be an adviser to the prime minister. He also served as
undersecretary of state for the Ministry of the Interior.