Chen Chi-li (
Chen was arrested at his Phnom Penh home in a joint military and municipal police raid on Saturday, which resulted in the confiscation of 21 weapons. The Cambodian government put in place strict regulations on guns a year ago.
Cambodian law dictates that people must face court proceedings within 48 hours of their arrest.
Cambodian police allegedly were incensed by repeated broadcasts on Taiwanese cable TV channels -- widely available in Cambodia -- of Chen showing off his guns to Taiwanese reporters, and so moved to arrest him.
Reports on Chen featured prominently in several Taiwanese newspapers, which can be easily obtained in stores in the capital.
"The Taiwanese media is stuck on Chen Chi-li," a local Cambodian reporter surnamed Shih said. "No one would broadcast guns so boldly on television."
The reporter said the authorities were forced to act out of fear the broadcasts would be sent around the world and damage Cambodia's reputation.
Another Chinese-Cambodian reporter surnamed Huang, who has covered business associations for six years, said Taiwanese newspapers had sensationalized the story.
A report in a Taiwanese daily highlighted Chen's involvement in another Chinese gang and disputes between business associations yesterday. However, Chen had little to do with China or local business associations in Cambodia, Huang said.
Many of Chen's acquaintances said they did not understand why Chen had so brazenly showed his guns to reporters on July 4. "He is going senile," one said.
Chen said at the time that the guns were bought for self-defense during the 1997 coup.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has reportedly asked Sao Sokha, chief of the military police, to be careful in his remarks to the press on the issue.
Phnom Penh mayor Chea Sothara said on Sunday that Chen would be charged with keeping illegal weapons
Chea also said that Chen had not been implicated in the murder last week of Lee Hsim-hsin (
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
A bipartisan group of US representatives have introduced a draft US-Taiwan Defense Innovation Partnership bill, aimed at accelerating defense technology collaboration between Taiwan and the US in response to ongoing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The bill was introduced by US representatives Zach Nunn and Jill Tokuda, with US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar and US Representative Ashley Hinson joining as original cosponsors, a news release issued by Tokuda’s office on Thursday said. The draft bill “directs the US Department of Defense to work directly with Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense through their respective
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
RSS