Cambodia elects new chief after graft row

PHNOM PENH, Oct 9 (Reuters) Cambodia has elected a new president for its National Olympic Committee (NOC) a month after Prime Minister Hun Sen accused the sports body of squandering nearly one million dollar.

Deputy tourism minister Thon Khon was elected unanimously last week to replace Prince Norodom Ranariddh, a former co-Prime Minister and one of Hun Sen's main political rivals.

''We have elected a new president and that means no one can spend the money all over the place again,'' Meas Sarin, NOC secretary general in the war-scarred southeast Asian country, said today.

Ranariddh has denied allegations of graft.

The NOC, which receives about 130,000 dollar a year from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), would hold a special meeting next week to discuss improvements to its workings and output, Meas Sarin added.

The row was drawn to the attention of the IOC last month when Hun Sen said he would divert any funds raised for the sports body to the Red Cross because he was worried about the bloated entourage that travelled to overseas events.

Appointment of the new Olympics chief is unlikely to usher in an era of Cambodian athletes mounting the podium at major events.

To date, one of its few sporting highlights was winning a silver medal in the women's petanque at the 2005 South East Asian Games in the Philippines.

Reuters AY VP1235