PHNOM PENH, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has so far conducted drug tests on 56,445 civil servants as part of the kingdom's anti-drug campaign, Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Monday.
"Of them, 76 were positive for drugs and dismissed from their jobs," he said in a text posted on his official Telegram channel.
The prime minister said the drug testing on civil servants is still going on.
Hun Manet issued an order on Feb. 20 instructing all ministries and institutions to conduct regular inspections of all civil servants to ensure they are not involved in the use of illegal narcotics, or their sale or distribution.
He said any civil servants, police officers and soldiers involved in drug use or drug cases will be expelled from their jobs without any exception.
Besides disciplinary sanction, the offenders could also face criminal charges under the country's law, he added.
Prior to the testing on civil servants, the Southeast Asian country had undergone drug tests on armed forces, resulting in the dismissal and prosecution of dozens of police officers and soldiers.
Cambodia has ramped up efforts in combating illicit drugs since August last year when Hun Manet took office.
The kingdom detained 5,489 drug-related suspects during the January-March period this year, seizing a total of 3.65 tons of narcotics, according to the Anti-Drug Department. ■