The criminal charges filed against a prominent real estate businessman accused in the fatal shooting of a young couple were appropriate for the case and could bring a 15-year prison sentence, Cambodia’s justice minister told reporters on Wednesday.

Minister of Justice Keut Rith also said that Srey Sina – a wealthy real estate investor who held the title of Oknha until last week – will be placed on a list of “so-called criminals who cannot ask for a pardon and amnesty.”

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Saturday charged Srey Sina with murder, attempted murder and illegal use of a firearm.

The June 17 shooting that left Long Lysong, 27, and his fiancee Khin Kanchana, 26, dead and two others wounded angered Cambodians on social media, many of whom expressed their doubts in online comments that Srey Sina would be held accountable by a legal system widely viewed as corrupt.

But some have questioned why the suspect wasn’t also charged with premeditated murder, since he is accused of entering Long Lysong’s home with a gun to confront him about a long-standing dispute between neighbors. Premeditated murder can be punished by life in prison, a heavier sentence than murder.

Keut Rith said that premeditated murder wasn’t included in the charges because the investigating judge found that Srey Sina hadn’t planned to kill Long Lysong when he entered the home.

Srey Sina told police he shot the young couple with a handgun after Long Lysong used abusive language toward him.

Security footage of shooting

Two security videos viewed by Radio Free Asia showed a man who appears to be Srey Sina having a discussion with Long Lysong as the young man sat in front of a table and a computer screen. 

Khin Kanchana is shown sitting next to Long Lysong as she looks at her phone, while two other young men sit across from them in front of two other computer screens at an adjacent table.

At the end of the first video, Srey Sina points at Long Lysong, who then gets up out of his chair. Both men walk out of view of the camera.

The beginning of the second video shows Long Lysong as he falls back into the camera view. He lies flat on the ground as a now-standing Khin Kanchana also drops backward. 

Srey Sina then comes into view and scrambles around the two tables with the handgun stretched before him as the other two young men dive under the tables to avoid him.

Police have said that Srey Sina fired 10 shots in total. The two young men – Sokhom Charnak, 20, and Hong Rithearak, 24 – were wounded but survived the shooting.

Srey Sina, 50, was arrested in neighboring Kandal province after he apparently fled the scene, according to Phnom Penh police.

The shooting stemmed from a dispute over a parking space, the felling of a mango tree and a clothesline between Long Lysong and a woman who rents one of Srey Sina’s houses, the Khmer Times reported last week. 

Consolations from the government 

Several top government officials have made sympathetic public statements and have sought to assure Cambodians that justice would be vigorously pursued.

On Facebook, Prime Minister Hun Manet called on the judiciary and prosecutors to strictly enforce the law in the case. 

In a separate post, he instructed Keut Rith to look into whether the existing penal code should be amended to allow for additional charges in cases that involve aggravated violence.

Long Lysong’s sister, Long Lyhor, told RFA that the family wants to see Srey Sina imprisoned for the rest of his life.

“We lose family members, so how can we like this?” she said. “We want our lives back. But I cannot decide, because it depends on the law.”

Srey Sina held the title of Oknha, which is bestowed on Cambodians involved in business who are committed to charity or generous with donations to the government. 

The title has an unofficial association with impunity for the rich, who often settle criminal cases out of court by paying off family members of victims.

Last week, the Cambodian Oknha Association said in a statement that he wasn’t a member of their association, even though he held the Oknha title. The group said it would request to have the title withdrawn to “the honor and reputation of the Okhna title.”

Hun Manet made a similar public plea, and last Friday, King Norodom Sihanmoni issued a decree stripping Srey Sina of the Oknha title.

Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Khmer.

This post was originally published on Radio Free.