Mey Ratha, a former adviser to Senate president Chea Sim, was tried in absentia yesterday for breach of contract after allegedly writing a bad cheque for US$250,000 in a 2008 Phnom Penh land deal.
Kong Sam Sareth, a deputy prosecutor for the court, said the contract between Ratha and alleged victim Chhorn Sarane, and Ratha’s own 2011 confession, indicated that he still owed a $250,000 commission to Sarane, and that he had tried to pass a bad cheque for that amount.
“Based on the proof and the suspect’s confession, the representing prosecutor has seen that Mey Ratha had no intention of paying the owed money to the victim, and had issued a cheque without currency to him,” Sareth said.
Kao Soupha, a lawyer for Sarane, said Mey Ratha had owed his client money since 2008, when he offered Sarane a $250,000 commission to find a buyer for some industrially zoned land, then dodged payment when the job was done, eventually offering Sarane a series of bad cheques.
Ratha is on the run from an arrest warrant issued in October last year. According to Soupha, he is thought to be hiding in Malaysia.
In an attempt to obtain his money, Sarane filed a criminal suit in March, 2009.
“Because Ratha was afraid of his arrest and jail, he issued a cheque for $250,000 to my client to get the money from a bank, but the cheque had no currency,” Soupha said. “And second, he sent two other separate cheques to the victim, with one cheque worth $110,000 and another cheque worth $140,000, but there was not any currency.”
Soupha called on the court to punish Ratha with the full weight of the law, not only on behalf of his client, but in order to prevent what he described as future abuses of power.
Ratha is the sixth former Chea Sim adviser to face criminal charges in the past year.
He had no representation at yesterday’s trial.
According to a court clerk who declined to be named, no lawyer would take on his case because they feared they would not be paid.
Popular Posts
-
Today, Littlefashion shares tips of how to choose colors for your lips. Find the reds, pinks, corals and other shades that match your skin t...
-
It is a typical early evening in Jakarta, and when my interview ends, darkness has fallen and it has begun to rain, lightly at first, then ...
-
7 steps to make your skin whiter 1. Increase your Vitamin C intake. This enhances skin color and suppleness. This will help keep your skin...
-
Friday, 02 October 2009 15:04 Peter Olszewski and Lily Partland Siem Reap town submerged as main river burst its banks following typhoon.Sie...
-
ភ្នំពេញ: តំណាងប្រជាពលរដ្ឋបុរីកីឡា ដែលរងគ្រោះដោយការបណ្ដេញចេញ...
-
Lee Chae-young, a Korean actress famous for her body, has recently treated her fans with a set of sensual photos in a revealing dress at t...
-
LOY Proteeb (Bonn Bondaet Proteeb) is without doubt the most magical of Cambodia's many wonderful festivals. Rooted far in the past, it... -
Internationally renowned Scottish golf course architect David McLay Kidd was in Siem Reap for just over 24 hours before he landed in the rou... -
Coffee is one of the most actively traded commodities, and in the US it is a multibillion-dollar global industry. Starbucks Corporation, a c...
-
The teenagers packed into the cinema at Sorya on a weekday afternoon are so loud and excitable I think maybe they’ve had ...
0 comments To "Ex-Chea Sim adviser tried over bad cheque"
Post a Comment