Bavet Shooting: Victim Dies, Police Inspector Charged

Svay Rieng –  On December 21, 2019, due to a serious injury, the owner of a restaurant who was shot in the head by a Bavet city inspector died in a Vietnamese Hospital

At the moment, the body is being repatriated to its hometown for a traditional celebration.

Bavet City Deputy Inspector Keo Chetra, almost 30 years old, the son of Bavet police inspector Keo Kongat, shot the victim at the Samnang Anand restaurant in Ta Pov village, Bavet town, Svay Rieng province.

The Bavet police officer will be brought to court on December 21, 2019. The reason for the shooting was because the perpetrator was angry with the owner for bringing food too late. *Later it is claimed he shot his gun in anger and a ricochet hit the victim.

A police source added that the suspect would be remanded in court and could not be detained (*in regular prison?).

After the shooting, Keo Chetra was arrested immediately and sent to the Svay Rieng police station. The victim, Soeun Dan, 38, was taken to Vietnam.

The deputy inspector general of police has reportedly held the position for just a few days and was formerly a drugs officer. It is reported that some local authorities were not satisfied with the direction of Inspector Keo Kong (*the suspect’s father) but did not dare to file a complaint to their superiors.

The suspect, who was known to some as belligerent and had been a ‘gangster’ (*a wild youth), but had been lucky enough to become a deputy police chief with the help of his father. AREY

*Meanwhile leaked photos posted on Facebook have attracted anger and criticism from citizens, after they show the suspect smiling and not wearing handcuffs for his arrest, which would be expected in such cases.

UPDATE: There has been further speculation that the victim was romantically involved with the suspect’s father, according to several sources.