Japanese Ambassador Airs Concerns Over SEZ Shooting

Japanese Ambassador Masafumi Kuroki yesterday said he hoped the government arrests the gunman behind the Feb. 20 triple shooting of protesting workers in Svay Rieng province, and that safety must be ensured for investors in the special economic zone (SEZ) where the incident took place. No arrests have yet been made since a uniformed man opened fire on workers protesting in the Manhattan SEZ, wounding three female demonstrators. Bavet city governor Chhuk Bundith has been named as the chief suspect, though the provincial court has only requested that Mr. Bundith appear for questioning later this month. Speaking at the Sixth Cambodia-Japan Public-Private Sector Meeting at the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), Mr. Kuroki directly addressed the unsolved shooting, which has drawn new scrutiny of the country’s SEZs and the issue of impunity for the politically connected. …