Cambodia's Interior Ministry Suspends Tourism Police Chief Amid Extortion Allegations

The Ministry of Interior has decided to temporarily suspend the duties and positions of Lieutenant General Run Ratnvasana, Chief of the Tourism Police, pending further investigation procedures. The ministry stated that this temporary suspension is to implement the procedures for investigation and to examine irregularities. On July 13, 2026, between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM, behind the Cellcard company, a group of individuals claiming to be "Tourism Police" led by Run Ratnvasana, allegedly forced a victim into a car and detained them at the Tourism Police Department of the Ministry of Interior without a warrant or the knowledge of the prosecutor. Subsequently, individuals named Lim Kok Chiang, Latch Bopphapekdi, and Run Ratnvasana allegedly attempted to intimidate and coerce the victim into transferring money from the bank account of the victim's sister (named Sok Kim). They also reportedly moved the victim to the National Police Headquarters and forced the victim's sister to sign several documents. On July 14, 2026, the group of suspects took the victim to the ABA Bank headquarters in Daun Penh to force the victim's sister to withdraw $505,000 USD, threatening to imprison the victim for 20 years if the money was not provided. After receiving the money, they released the victim around 4:00 PM that afternoon. In response to this matter, the Tourism Police Department issued a clarification, completely denying accusations on social media that authorities had arrested, detained, and extorted $500,000. The department stated that this was a case of facilitating a settlement for an employee suspected of embezzling nearly $2 million from the company. During this temporary suspension, Lieutenant General Run Ratnvasana is required to report for duty during all working hours and cooperate with the Ministry of Interior's investigation procedures until a new decision is made. Source: Kampuchea Thmey Local