Over 100 rescued from illegal drug rehabilitation center

 

 Buth Reaksmey Kongkea 

Takeo provincial authorities on Monday rescued and transferred more than 100 drug addicts, including a woman, from an illegal private drug addict rehabilitation association in Tram Kok district into the care of their families or to the provincial rehabilitation centre. 

The move came after the director of the association and four colleagues were arrested and detained by the provincial court for allegedly forging the public document and posing as military police officers. 

Ek Chhenghuoth, the prosecutor of the Takeo provincial court, told Khmer Times that on February 9, Takeo provincial authority raided an illegal Drug Addict Relief Association located in Tram Kok district’s Leay Bor commune. 

He said that during the operation, the provincial authority arrested the director of the association and his four colleagues after the authorities had found that they had posed as military police officers and had also established a private drug addict rehabilitation association without authorisation. 

He added that after inspecting the rehabilitation centre, authorities had found a total of 107 addicts, including two foreigners and a woman, living there. 

“According to the investigations, among these 107 addicts, most had already quit taking drugs for one or two years but the owner of the association continued to illegally confine them in the center in order to extort the payment from their families,” he told Khmer Times.

“Other people only had arguments with their families and were sent to stay at this rehabilitation centre,” he added. 


Chhenghuoth emphasised that after their rescues, those who had quit taking drugs had been handed over to their families.

He added that those who were still drug addicts, had been transferred to the provincial rehabilitation for further treatment.

On Saturday, Takeo provincial court charged and  detained Nhiek Yilay, 56, the owner of Drug Addict Relief Association who posed as a brigadier general; Pa Oudom, 30, a counsellor who posed as colonel; and Oeun An, 25; Tep Layseng, 29; and Tep Mony, 28; all security guards, who posed as military policemen.

Yilay was charged with “forgery of public document, unlawful use of costume designated for public authority and unlawful confinement” under Articles 629, 612 and 253 of the Criminal Code while the other four were charged with being accomplices in the forgery of public documents, unlawful use of costume designated for public authority and unlawful confinement.   

They were arrested by provincial military police on Thursday in Bati district.




 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Laotian gets life for drug trafficking

Image
Buth Reaksmey Kongkea The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has sentenced a Laotian drug trafficker to life imprisonment after the 42-year-old was convicted of trafficking about 7 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine. Presiding Judge Sin Sovannroath said Houa Choua was from Champasak province’s Moeung Khong district, Laos.     “The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has decided to sentence the accused Houa Choua to a life sentence and a fine of 100 million riels,” Judge Sovannroath said in his judgment yesterday.   He said that the accused was charged with “drug possessing, transport and trafficking” under Article 40 of Cambodian Law on Drugs Control and with “money Laundering” under Articles 38 of the Law on Anti-Money Laundering and Financing.   Judge Sovannroath stated that Houa Choua was arrested by police at a guesthouse in Por Senchey district’s Kakab commune on October 16, 2022, night.  Houa Choua was detained after he had transported the drugs by car from the Cambodia-Lao border in
Read more

Sorn Elit, the Tallest Cambodian Taekwando Champion

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA There are 18 Taekwondo fighters on the national team, according to Hem Samnang, Secretary General of the Cambodian Taekwondo Federation (CTF). He was speaking to The Southeast Asia Weekly on July 22. The Secretary General said that Sorn Elit, 22, is currently the best Taekwondo fighter in Cambodia. He has attended many competitions both at home and abroad and has achieved success in both fields. In 2008, he won the national heavyweight title in the Taekwondo championships. “I am very proud of Sorn Elit as he is the best fighter in Cambodia,” Samnang said. “I believe that he will continue to bring honor to the country, the sport and himself as he competes in still more competitions at home and in the international fighting arena. He is completely committed to his training schedule and is a credit to the sport.” The Secretary General said that to improve Elit’s skills, the CTF sent him to get Taekwondo training in South Korea over two weeks in 2007. The CTF plans
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