PHNOM PENH: Cambodian police have vowed to tighten gun control and crack down on illegal weapons trafficking to maintain security, safety and social order.
A Phnom Penh Post news report said this came as officials and civil society organisations had raised their concerns about increasing gun violence in the country.
Interior Ministry weapons control department director Theam Bun Seng said firearms and other weapons were controlled by law since 2005.
He said those who had the right to legally possess a gun included directors, deputy directors, members of the National Assembly and the Senate, the Constitutional Council, the Supreme Council of Magistracy, ministers and other officials.
"To stop illegal weapons use, we will increase patrols and inspections. We will install checkpoints in roads and in high traffic areas to crack down on illegal transportation and trafficking of weapons and explosives.
"We will strengthen the management and control of weapons before we issue anymore licences for owning weapons."
Those found guilty of illegal possession of weapons, explosives and ammunition of all types can be jailed between six months and two years and fined between 500,000 and 2,000,000 riel (US$125 and US$500).
Those involved in weapons trafficking or found to be stockpiling weapons face five to 10 years' jail.
The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights deputy director Am Sam Ath said the increase in gun violence was worrying and he believed it may be due to loopholes in the gun control law.
He said some people found to be in possession of guns illegally had escaped punishment with the help of powerful and well-connected people who intervened on their behalf.
Sam Ath said many violent incidents or other cases where guns had been misused were not due to illegal guns but were perpetrated by government officials who abused their rights to carry a gun.
He cited instances where officials threatened and even killed others they were having personal disputes with, or threatened people who were innocent of wrongdoing but were less powerful than them.
He said officials sometimes used their guns to make arbitrary demands from others and to show off their power and influence.
"All of these cases show brutality and inhumanity and show a lack of ethics and professional training among those allowed to carry guns. If we can't control legal guns effectively, we can't expect to get the problem of illegal guns under control."
Theam said the government was introducing new plans and considering strict measures to control those guns.
He said that anyone found to be stockpiling illegal weapons or misusing a legally-held weapon would be punished according to the law.