The parents of oknha and military general Thorng Sarath, who was sentenced to life in prison along with his bodyguards in 2019, has been granted Cambodian citizenship.
According to a royal decree dated July 1, 2022, and published online by the Council of Ministers on February 17, 2023, the king granted Cambodian nationality to two Vietnamese individuals Duong The Cuong and his wife Tran Thi Loc. The two have changed their names to Thorng Chamreun and Keo Sary, respectively.
Oknha Thorng Sarath and four of his bodyguards were sentenced by Phnom Penh Municipal Court to life in prison in March 2019 for premeditated murder in connection with the shooting death of oknha Ung Meng Cheu in Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmon district in 2014.
Duong The Cuong and Tran Thi Loc
Parents of Oknha Thorng Sarath
- Action: Given Citizenship
- Date: July 1, 2022
- Nationality: Vietnamese
- Institution: Royal Palace, King
- New Names: Thorng Chamreun and Keo Sary
But in November 2020, the Appeal Court in Phnom Penh decided to release four of the defendants — Thorng Sarath and his bodyguards Kuoy Chanthol, Meas Sambath and Khun Chetra — on bail and placed them under judicial supervision.
In February 2022, the Supreme Court dropped the charges against the four. The remaining defendant, Sieng Veasna, remains in prison.
