Heng Pov () (born December 1, 1957, in Kandal Province,

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

) was the

Undersecretary of State Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

and an assistant to the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

of Cambodia, as well as

police commissioner A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...

of the city of

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

, and a personal advisor to

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Hun Sen Samdech Hun Sen (; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the List of presidents of the Senate (Cambodia), president of the Senate. He previous ...

. Heng Pov was born in Kandal province to a family of Chinese-

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

descent. In 1981, Heng Pov married Tung Thi Van, the daughter of Tung Pov, Vietnamese government agent based in

. The following year, Heng Pov joined the police force. Heng Pov was shot in the leg while on police duty in 1992, and his left leg was amputated. In July 2006, while he was in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

for medical treatment on his leg stump, Cambodian officials announced that he was wanted on a variety of charges, including corruption, possession of illegal weapons, involvement in several high-profile

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

s, and possession of

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

currency. Heng Pov responded by seeking

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

status in Malaysia, and by releasing a lengthy statement accusing several high-profile Cambodian officials, including National Police Commissioner

Hok Lundy Hok Lundy () (February 3, 1950 – November 9, 2008), also transliterated as Hok Lundi and Hoc Lundy, was the National Police Commissioner of Cambodia from 1994 to 2008; he had previously been the governor of Svay Rieng Province. He was lin ...

, of corruption and involvement in several high-profile murders, including that of Pisith Pilika. While Malaysian officials were considering Heng Pov's refugee claim, Cambodian officials tried and convicted him ''

in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...

''; Cambodian

Minister of Information An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given t ...

Khieu Kanharith Khieu Kanharith (; born 13 September 1951) is a Cambodian politician and former Minister of Information. Kanharith was born in Phnom Penh to Khieu Than, who was a customs official and his wife Lor Lienghorn. In 1969 he completed his baccalauréa ...

said "if (he) says he knows about crimes within the government, it means he is an accomplice to these crimes. So he has no right to seek political asylum." In December 2006,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

announced that it was willing to grant Heng Pov refugee status; instead, hours before he was supposed leave Malaysia for Finland, Malaysia handed him to Cambodian authorities who took him back to Cambodia in a private plane on 19 December 2006, where he was arrested and sentenced to multiple life sentences. His wife and three of his six children now reside in Finland, where they have been granted status as political refugees.Heng Pov's Family In Finland Asks To Unfreeze Funds
from the

Phnom Penh Post ''The Phnom Penh Post'' (, ) is a daily English-language newspaper published in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Founded in 1992 by publisher Michael Hayes and Kathleen O'Keefe, it is Cambodia's oldest English-language newspaper and prior to the transferr ...

, archived at ScandAsia Khieu Thakvika, spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that if Finland "regrets" about Heng Pov, Cambodia can send many criminals to Finland

References

External links

Official statement by the Cambodian government on the Finnish reaction to Heng Pov's deportationPDF of Heng Pov's statement
at

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

(requires

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) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heng, Pov 1957 births Cambodian amputees Cambodian politicians with disabilities Cambodian people of Chinese descent Cambodian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Cambodian refugees Government ministers of Cambodia Living people Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Cambodia Cambodian politicians convicted of crimes