Phnom Penh: Former Sam Rainsy's bodyguard revealed the true related to the bombing in front of the National Assembly in 1997, more than 26 years ago.

Nguon Ngyim, who claimed to be Sam Rainsy's bodyguard during 1997, said that Sam Rainsy's remarks regarding the bombing in front of the National Assembly were fabricated, while Sam Rainsy himself was not at the event.

In the video that Mr. Nguon Ngyim spoke on the night of April 2, 2023, it was confirmed that Mr. Sam Rainsy had just gotten out of the car during the bombing incident without being with the protesters from the beginning.

He added that Sam Rainsy himself was not injured in the incident because he had just gotten out of the car and that the bombing was far away.

He added that at first, Sam Rainsy was scared to run away from the location, but because there were people who suggested that he could take advantage of the event for himself, Sam Rainsy walked into the place where the victims were, pretending to one of the victims in that event.

He said: "At that time, he wanted to run, but his people told him not to back down, because to withdraw your supporters will be lost hope for you. Then he went to the site with the injured to see blood stains, pretending that he had been injured, said he was the leader of the real opposition, and his bodyguards came in and loaded him into a car. And I got in the car with him and drove into the house because he was not injured, he did not go to the hospital".

A bomb blast near the National Assembly on March 30, 1997 killed 16 people and injured about 150 others. The government has not been indifferent to the incident, as the Ministry of Interior has confirmed annually that the investigation still going on.

Despite the government's interpretation, the opposition has always used the event to attack the government, including painting.