TV producer charged for defamation

 

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

TCN TV producer has been charged in court for airing news claiming that Kandal provincial authorities had received bribes from illegal gambling den owners to turn a blind eye. 

Thai Bunrith, 51, had allegedly aired the allegations on Facebook live and was charged in Kandal provincial court yesterday. 

Kandal Provincial Court Investigating Judge Ath Chandara said Bunrith was charged with “Inciting to Discriminate and Public Defamation” under Articles 494, 496, and 305 of the Criminal Code.

If convicted, he faces a maximum two-year jail term. 

Kandal Provincial police officer Major Leang Sameth said yesterday Bunrith’s broadcast on Facebook live via his TCN TV channel claimed that police and military police officers were complicit with illegal gambling operators in online gambling and lottery, and cock fighting in Kandal province. 

He said that during Bunrith’s May 24 broadcast, Bunrith, who appeared drunk, openly insulted both the provincial police chief and provincial military police commander and other relevant authorities. 

Burith, he said, alleged that both police chiefs were corrupt and received bribes from owners of illegal gambling shops in exchange for not taking action against them. 

“He had also insinuated that the ruling Cambodian People's Party provincial authorities were corrupt and took bribes.

“His allegations are not true. His intentions were to discredit the provincial authorities and incite people to discriminate against the government,” Maj Sameth added.

He said that Bunrith was arrested on May 26 following a lawsuit filed by the Kandal Provincial Police.




 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cambodia Attends the 13th World Swimming Championship in Italy

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The six Cambodian delegates will leave for the 13th World Swimming Championship, scheduled over nine days from the July 25 to August 2, 2009 in Rome, Italy. The delegates will depart on July 21. Their number will include two national male swimmers and a couple of female junior swimmers. They will be supported by one coach and one member of the sport’s governing body. The World Swimming Championship is organized by the International Amateur Swimming Federation (IASF), which was founded in the 1950s, according to Hem Thon, National Coach and Secretary General of the Khmer Amateur Swimming Federation (KASF). He also said that 115 countries besides Cambodia would send swimmers to Italy to take part in the competition. “This is the third year that Cambodia has sent a swimming team to the World Swimming Championships. We are looking forward to competing with the best swimmers in the world and hopefully winning a couple of medals for our country. It is also be a great...
Read more

Chan Tra: Life of a Cambodian Traditional Tattoo Artist

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Among tattooists in Cambodia, Chan Tra, 46, is the only tattoo artist to retain the ability to ink a wide range of subjects in different styles. His modern counterparts are limited in their repertoire in comparison. His subjects include the human form, birds and abstract patterns. Chan Tra is now an expert in drawing Ankor Wat on the skin of foreign clients, thus turning them into walking, talking promotional materials for Cambodia’s tourist sector. Chan Tra was born in 1963 in Sihanouk province and has two sons and one daughter. He is an orphaned and a Survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime. He lost his entire family during the years of terror between 1975 and 1979. “I have loved drawing and painting ever since I was a child and practised my art every day before the arrival of the Pol Pot regime. Consequently, I like the art of tattooing and it makes a solid source of income to keep my wife and kids happy,” he told The Southeast Asia Weekly during a personal i...
Read more

TV5 Selects Freshie Girls and Boys 2009

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Ten Cambodian teenagers, five girls and five boys, were selected as “Cambodian Freshie Girls and Boys” for 2009. The “Freshie Girls and Boys” competition took place on March 30 at the TV5’s station in Phnom Penh and was organized by the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces’ Television Channel 5 (TV5). Bun Kert, Director of the “Freshie Girls and Boys Organizational Committee” of the TV5, said more than 1,000 Cambodian youth applied for the competition, but through many different phases of the competition, only 20 girls and boys who reached the final round on March 30. He said the main objective of the competition is to promote and encourage Cambodian young people to show their personal abilities and skills and knowledge in order to become a future leader, good speaker or TV hosts in Cambodia. “This is the eighth “Freshie Girls and Boys” competition organized by TV5 in Phnom Penh. The main purpose of the competition is to select the freshie girls and boys for Cambodia i...
Read more