Editor of Phnom Penh Post fired by new owners

Crisis gripped Cambodia's last independent newspaper yesterday as the editor-in-chief was fired by its new owner over a front-page article on the sale, while several senior reporters resigned in protest at the apparent attack on editorial integrity.

The 26-year-old Phnom Penh Post was sold to Malaysian investor Sivakumar S Ganapathy over the weekend for an unknown sum.

Since then the newspaper, once respected for its fearless, independent reporting, has gone into meltdown -- the latest unravelling of a prominent media organisation under the watch of Cambodia's increasingly authoritarian premier Hun Sen.

Editor Kay Kimsong said he was sacked for signing off on a piece exploring the implications of the sale.

"The new owner fired me today... because I approved today's front-page story," Kimsong told AFP.

"I have done my duty as editor-in-chief for the newspaper... but the new boss has the right to make the decision."

The story identified the new proprietor as the Malaysian investor, who is also the CEO of Kuala Lumpur-based public relations firm Asia PR, a business the report said "has previously done work" for Hun Sen.