Anti-Corruption Unit Head Tells Donors to Stop Asking Questions
Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) chief Om Yentieng on Wednesday told donor countries to keep their noses out of how the institution goes about its work while at the same time informing the public that he was powerless to stop the courts from dropping corruption cases. In a speech at the opening of a workshop held by Transparency International Cambodia on monitoring efforts to stamp out corruption, Mr. Yentieng defended the few arrests the ACU has made since it began functioning in 2010. “Not everything is corruption, so we won’t always make arrests,” he said. “And where we do, we cannot prosecute. [Prosecutors] take that role. We need to comply with the law—it doesn’t mean we need to comply with donors,” Mr. Yentieng said. … Mr. Yentieng made reference to the arrest last week of a clerk at the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court on allegations of corruption and bribe-taking, but side-stepped a reporter’s question when asked about whether or not the ACU will go after higher-ranking officials at the court. … He also said that he hopes lessons on anti-corruption can be included in the country’s school curriculum so that “people will hate corruption and be aware of it.” …
Lauren Crothers and Aun Pheap
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/anti-corruption-unit-head-tells-donors-to-stop-asking-questions-44781/
