Hun Chea, a nephew of Prime Minister Hun Sen and three-star lieutenant general, was detained on Wednesday for questioning over a shooting incident that took place at Chea's house on Tuesday night, police said.
Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Chuon Sovann confirmed that Ministry of Interior police took Chea in on Wednesday. Around 10 rounds were fired in an unspecified incident at Chea's home in Daun Penh district's Psar Thmey I commune last night, according to Sovann, who gave few other details.
"The municipal police did not detain Hun Chea," he said. "It was the police from the security department of the Ministry of Interior."
Chea, the son of the prime minister's older brother, Hun San, has had trouble with the law in the past.
In 2002, Chea and his cousin, Hun To, were charged in a shootout that injured two people, although the case was ultimately dropped due to insufficient evidence.
In 2010, the premier made an appeal to him to return to his family after Chea was publicly accused of cheating on his wife and using drugs.
Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak could not be immediately reached.
Updates to follow.
