Kampot Provincial Police on Wednesday questioned a man Prime Minister Hun Sen called “Monk Mary” and criticised as a potentially fake monk who lied to people about the premier.
Speaking to garment workers in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen claimed “Mary” was not attached to any pagoda, and moved around spreading false information about the premier. He ordered Kep Provincial Governor Ken Satha to locate the man immediately.
Hun Sen took exception to the man’s alleged claims that the premier would be arrested on last week's trip to Australia for an Asean summit and that he tried to evade journalists’ questions as he boarded the plane to the island nation.
The premier did not specify where these claims were made, but pointed to his phone during the speech.
“My speculation is that this guy is not a monk. This is not freedom of information. This guy must be a spy,” he said, adding that “Mary” only recently shaved his head and wore monk’s robes.
A photo of the alleged monk, released by government mouthpiece Fresh News, shows an elderly man sitting in a wooden hut smoking a cigarette, alongside another photo of him dressed in a suit.
Kep Provincial Police Chief Mao Chanmathurith said the man had been taken in for questioning Wednesday morning, but was not arrested, adding that the man had recently left the monkhood. He could not confirm the man’s name.
“This is not an arrest. An arrest is only after there is a crime," Chanmathurith said. "We invited him for questions relating to his lie to the people."
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... e-monk-kep
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