US sanctions Cambodian PM’s top bodyguard over rights abuses

PHNOM PENH: The United States has imposed sanctions on the commander of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguards, accusing him of using force to menace opponents for decades, the first member of the leader’s inner circle to be blacklisted by Washington.

General Hing Bun Hieng, head of the Prime Minister Bodyguard Unit (PMBU), was sanctioned for “being the leader of an entity involved in serious human rights abuse”, the US Treasury Department said on Tuesday.