Hok Lundy Gets His 1.1

I feel awfully bad for the pilot and co-pilot. Hok Lundy, the notoriously brutal top cop in Cambodia, who is probably directly involved in the murder of Chea Vichea, died in an ‘accidental’ helicopter crash. Also, recently implicated in the murder of a reporter who wrote about his obsessive gambling behavior and borrowing.

And don’t forget that Heng Pov was not too long ago living in Singapore, trying to fight extradition back to Cambodia, and threatening to spill all the dirty beans. He claimed that if he was returned to Cambodia, Hok Lundy would kill him.

Anybody else wondering if this was really an accident, or if somebody thought that the price of a helicopter was worth it? (Trust me, the people who do this stuff weren’t really worried about the pilots).

Update: Cambodge Soir has an article on Lundy’s death, and a picture from the funeral, conducted under tight security. For those interested in Buddhist death customs, note that the saffron cloth placed over the body is referred to as a pansukula, (បង្សុកូល) a ‘dust-heap rag,’ which will be taken by a Buddhist monk prior to cremation or burial and supposedly used as a robe. Pansukula is also the name of the most important chant intoned by Buddhist monks during the various moments of the funeral process.