Cambodia's former police chief who fled to Malaysia claiming he had been framed for a murder rap in his country was no doubt greatly relieved when told earlier this week that Finland had accepted his plea for asylum.

However, that was not to be. Yesterday, the Malaysian government sucessfully thwarted his plans with a court of appeal order and moved swiftly to deport him back to Cambodia despite fears of him being killed.

The sudden and rushed deportation of Heng Pov, 51, ( pix ) yesterday to serve an 18-year prison sentence in his home country sparked condemnation from several human rights watchdogs.

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) executive director Yap Swee Seng described the event as simply 'mind-boggling'.

"We are wondering why was he sent back. All Malaysia had to do was to let Heng Pov go to Finland.

"It is mind-boggling why the government decided to send him back (to Cambodia) to face torture and risk getting killed," he said.

He then questioned whether the Cambodian government had been applying pressure on the Malaysian government to return the former head of Phnom Penh's police force.

"This question must be answered by the Malaysian government," he asserted.

Amnesty International (AI) executive director Josef Roy Benedict said the Malaysian government had failed to observe the principle of non-refoulement that prohibits a person from being sent back to their home country when there is a risk of persecution.

"His deportation is evident that the Malaysian government, which is a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, has failed to respect the asylum process and continues to disregard international customary law and principle," he said in a statement today.

Habeas corpus writ

Heng Pov entered Malaysia from Singapore on Sept 1 on a 30-day visa on a diplomatic passport with the intention of seeking asylum in another unnamed country. His wife Ngin Fotheavy, 38, said he had informed Malaysia's foreign ministry that he would be staying here for one month while applying for political asylum.

The immigration department, however, arrested him on Oct 3 after his visa expired sparking off his court battle to avoid deportation to Cambodia.

The former top cop was convicted and sentenced to 18 years in absentia by the Cambodian government on Sept 18 for his role in the 2003 murder of municipal court judge Sok Setha Mony.

He is also alleged to have been involved in the attempted murder of a newspaper publisher, a prosecutor, the national military chief and city council officials.

However, the former police chief claims that he is being framed by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, after having a fall-out with the Cambodian strongman.

In Kuala Lumpur, Heng Pov's wife applied for a writ of habeas corpus to prevent the immigration department from deporting him to Cambodia on the grounds that she feared for her husband's safety. She also filed asylum applications with several countries.

On Dec 15, High Court Justice Abdul Kadir Musa allowed Heng Pov's application to be deported to Singapore, his last point of disembarkation. In the meantime, Finland said it had accepted his application for asylum citing human rights concerns.

Unexpected intervention

However, the Attorney-General's Chambers unexpectedly intervened on Tuesday, appealing against the High Court's order allowing Heng Pov to go to Singapore. It argued that the High Court's order was 'wrong and in violation of the law'.

The Court of Appeal, which convened yesterday morning, upheld the government's arguments, paving the way for Heng Pov's immediate deportation to Cambodia at 12.30pm aboard a private plane.

His lawyer N Sivananthan said he had appealed to the Federal Court immediately but it was too late.

The Federal Court panel, which was prepared to hear the case yesterday morning itself, later expressed displeasure over the rushed deportation.

The judges who convened shortly after on the request of Heng Pov's lawyers expressed surprise that he had left the country, the New Straits Times reported.

"Are you sure he is no longer in Malaysia?" Judge Richard Malanjum asked prosecutors.

"Why did they do that? We are now here to hear his appeal. There is still a court higher than the Court of Appeal," Malanjum reportedly said. "Why didn't you advise the immigration department to hold him first?"

The ex-police chief arrived at Phnom Penh's military air base at 1:15pm yesterday and was sent to the Prey Sar prison under heavy security.

'An embarrassment'

Heng Pov's lawyer N Sivananthan, when contacted, said he will be writing to the AG, the prime minister, the inspector-general of police and the director-general of immigration to voice his concern over the sudden deportation.

'How did this happen? We demand to know what transpired. This an embarrassment to the country," he said.

"Why was the deportation done so suddenly? Why did they bend over backwards to keep him in the country? Is it because Cambodia would have less chance of securing Heng Pov if we had allowed him to go to Singapore?"

Heng Pov's wife yesterday lodged a police report against the immigration department and the AG's chambers.