PHNOM PENH, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Wednesday criticized the United States for imposing sanctions on General Hing Bun Heang, commander of the country's Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen's Bodyguard Unit, for alleged human rights abuses.
"The Cabinet of the Prime Minister of Cambodia condemns the U.S.'s measure, which was taken groundlessly on His Excellency Hing Bun Heang, who is a strict law enforcer and dignified obligor in safeguarding Cambodia's stability and social order," the Cabinet said in a statement.
"What the U.S. did is the violation of sovereignty of an independent country," it said. "The Cabinet of the Prime Minister of Cambodia openly criticizes this unreasonable, violable, and shameless measure of the U.S.."
Another statement issued by the Ministry of Defense said the U.S.'s sanctions imposed on the Cambodian senior official was unacceptable and a flagrant violation of law in Cambodia, which is a sovereign state.
"The Ministry of Defense of Cambodia urges the U.S. Treasury Department to immediately stop imposing sanctions on any Cambodian senior military officials without clear grounds," the statement said.
The reaction came after the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned Bun Heang for "being the leader of an entity involved in serious human rights abuse".