reaksmey

2011-12-14T23:26:00.001-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A 26-YEAR-OLD man was charged yesterday with the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Banteay Meanchey’s Sisophon Town on Friday morning, officials said yesterday.
Prum Theng, chief of the provincial anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection office, said that Khem Khom, an employee for the girl’s family, was detained by the girl’s parents after he raped her at her house.
“He raped the victim twice before he was arrested,” he said.
In a separate case, a 42-year-old man was arrested yesterday over the rape of 13-year-old girl in Kampong Chhnang province’s Teuk Phos District, district police chief Kim Sareth said.
“She was caught and forcibly raped by the suspect while she went to look after her buffalos in the rice fields,” he said.

2011-12-14T23:24:00.002-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

AN American doctor has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing two teenage boys.

The United States citizen was arrested in the Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmon district at 9.3am on Friday, said Keo Thea, director of the capital’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Police, yesterday.

He said that the suspect had been detained by police and was being questioned regarding the purchase of child prostitution services in Cambodia.

“I expect that he will be charged by the municipal court on Monday,” he said.

The American, he added, had been arrested following contact with the FBI and a search had been conducted of his home.

2011-12-14T23:24:00.001-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Possession of fake currency and an illegal firearm led to the arrest of two Vietnamese nationals on Tuesday night in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district.

Kong Veasna, an officer of the Phnom Penh Municipal military police, said that Hean Krahan, 66, and Yin Tum, 51, were arrested on Tuesday around 11:30pm in Daun Penh’s Phsar Thmey III commune.

When the suspects were arrested, police confiscated a pistol, 18 bullets, US$ 400 in fake currency, US$ 1,800 of legitimate currency and six mobile cell phones, said Kong Veasna.

He also added that Heang Krahan was carrying a press card issued by the Ministry of Information that identified him as a reporter for the “The Krong Kampuchea Newspaper,” in Phnom Penh.

The two suspects could not be reached yesterday for comment.

2011-12-14T23:21:00.000-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

TWO young girls drowned in a canal in Banteay Meanchey province’s Mongkol Borei district on Friday afternoon on the way home from visiting their parents in a nearby rice field, officials said yesterday.

Deputy provincial police chief Chan Kosal said that Kunthea Routh, 11, and her 6-year-old sister, Kunthea Neang, drowned in a canal about 400 metres from their house in O’ Prasat commune’s Phnom Prasath village after leaving around midday.

“They have sought out their parents, who left home for a long time to work as rice harvesters for people in the same village. As they returned home along the road, they played in the water of the canal and drowned together,” he said.

Chan Kosal added that witnesses said Kunthea Routh attempted to help when she saw her sister struggling in the water, but neither could swim. Their bodies were discovered by their parents on the bank of the canal that evening, he said.

2011-12-14T23:15:00.002-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

The Court of Appeal yesterday postponed the hearing of convicted Thai spies Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipapatanapaiboon due to their lack of defense lawyers and Thai interpreters.

Samrith Sophal, a judge at the Court of Appeal, said that the duo’s appeal hearing, which was set to open yesterday, has been postponed to November 28.

“Their case is criminal and [they] must have lawyers to defend them for their hearing. Due to their lack of defense lawyers and interpreters, it is decided to postpone their appealing hearing to November 28,” he told reporters yesterday at the Court of Appeal.

Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipapatanapaiboon were not present at court yesterday. They could not be reached for comments.

Thai Foreign Affairs spokesman Thani Thongpakdee said the defendants are looking after their own defense and declined to comment further.

Pich Vicheka, a former defense lawyer for the two, said that he was not aware of their appeal hearing because he had not been hired to defend them for their appeal.

“I am now no longer involved with their cases,” he said. “I could not comment about their appeal.”

Chiv Song Hak, president of the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia, said that if the two convicted spies are unable to pay for their defense and cannot find lawyers, they can request that the court ask for lawyers from his association.

“The Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia is [happy] to send its lawyers to provide legal services for every suspect if they do not have money to hire lawyers or cannot find defense lawyers. If they need our lawyers, they can request it to the courts,” he told the Post yesterday.

In regard to the lack of interpreters, he added that those can also be requested through the court.

Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipapatanapaiboon were arrested by Cambodian authorities on December 28, 2010, along with other five Thai nationals after illegally crossing into Cambodia near O’Bei Chean Village, in Banteay Meanchey province.

On February 1, Veera Somkwamkid was sentenced by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to a total of 8 years in jail and fined 1.5 million riel (or about US$367), while Ratree Pipapatanapaiboon was convicted to 6 years in jail and fined 1.2 million riel (or $294).

2011-12-14T23:15:00.001-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Kidnappers freed the son of a three-star general yesterday in what his father claimed was a case of mistaken identity that led the assailants to drop a US$500,000 ransom demand.
So Akno, the son of Lieutenant General So Phan, the deputy director of the general commissariat of the National Police, was kidnapped on October 8 by a group of armed men who police said then demanded $1 million ransom for his release.
But So Phan said having already halved their demand, the kidnappers released his son yesterday at 2 am without extorting a cent from him.
“I am very happy, as my son has been released from a group of kidnappers, and he was not tortured or injured. I did not pay any money to the kidnappers,” he said, adding he would not pursue the perpetrators through the courts or police.
He denied rumors he had paid US$500,000 to secure his son’s release.
But a police official from the Ministry of Interior, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed the reduced ransom had been paid by So Phan to free his son.
“We now are working hard to arrest these kidnappers to bring them to justice,” he said, adding that the group had been sighted throwing So Akno into a Lexus at 6 pm when they originally kidnapped him from his house in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district.
Touch Naruth, chief of Phnom Penh Municipal Police; Ya Kim Y, chief of Phnom Penh Municipal Military Police; Mok Chito, chief of the Ministry of Interior’s Criminal Police Department; and Khieu Sopheak, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

2011-12-14T23:14:00.001-08:00

2011-12-14T23:11:00.000-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A MAN fronted a police press conference yesterday and spoke of his role in kidnapping So Kano, the son of So Phan, the secretary of state for the Ministry of Interior.

Suth Sophy, 38, said that after So Kano’s kidnapping on October 3, he drove the victim to a rented house in Toek LaakI commune, Toul Kork district.

Cambodian-French So Kano was kidnapped while driving a car near his house in village III, Chroy Changva commune, Russey Keo district.

The kidnappers demanded US$1 million from his family for his release, but after negotiations, the figure was reduced and So Kano was released for an undisclosed amount on October 23.

Suth Sophy claimed to have received US$10,000 for transporting So Kano, but said he had no more involvement with his fellow kidnappers until So Kano’s release, when he was paid.

Sear Sambath, chief of the Office of Crime Offense of National Military Police, said authorities spent 44 days investigating and tracking Suth Sophy before arresting him.

He said 44-year-old Lim Thy and 38-year-old Lvea Chek, two Cambodians believed to be living in France, were suspected ringleaders of the kidnapping, while 32-year-old Klee Sophy, believed to have escaped to Thailand, Cheat Vichet, 23, and a person known as Van were also wanted.

“They rented a villa to detain the victim and carry out the kidnapping. They spent $US13,500 on three guns, 50 bullets and two cars for the kidnapping,” Sear Sambath said.

Authorities searched a villa on Wednesday in Toek Laak I commune, Toul Kork district.

Police found string, sticky plastic, a diary book and a gun cover in the raid.

Sear Sambath said police were working with the French Embassy in Cambodia to hunt for Lim Thy and Lvea Chek.

So Phan and his family could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

2011-12-14T23:10:00.002-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

TRUCKS carrying Angkor beer yesterday morning pushed through a fragile blockade formed by “beer girls” trying to garner public support for what they described as an attempt to force the brewer to show more respect to them, as well as the law.

Drivers had stopped in front of the more than 30 women who gathered for almost five hours in front of Angkor Brewery’s head office on Norodom Boulevard, but company executives ordered them to push through the group.

The women used loudspeakers and banners to draw attention to their protest. They said they were protesting because they could not survive on what the company paid them for promoting its brand in restaurants and nightspots.
Moreover, it was also ignoring a June 15 ruling by the Arbitration Council to double the overtime wage they earn if they work on Sundays to $4 a day, they said.

The company all but ignored them, sending a single executive out to tell them to disburse because they were getting in the way of cargo.

“We didn’t want to protest, but with a basic salary of only $50 a month we cannot cover survive, and we if we work on Sunday we only get $2 more,” said beer-seller Si Noun. She, and her colleagues, said the company owed them back salary for three years because it had not been paying them overtime for working on Sundays and that the Council’s ruling was retroactive.

Sin Chanthoeun, 32, said she and her colleagues wanted the company pay up by the end of the week. “We are protesting because we want the company to respect the law,” she said.

Cambodian Food and Service Workers’ Federation president Ou Tep Phally said the women had been warned that if they tried to strike they would be dismissed.
About 200 beer promoters had planned to strike, but most became too afraid to join the protest after hearing rumours that police were searching for organisers, she said.

Ou Tep Phally said the federation would file a complaint against the company if it failed to honour the Arbitration Council’s ruling.

Sarin Denora, a lawyer for Angkor Beer Company, declined to comment, saying he was too busy.

2011-12-14T23:10:00.001-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

American national Phillip Bruce Shepard, 68, was officially charged yesterday by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court with purchasing child prostitution.

Shepard, a medical doctor at Princess Clinic in Phnom Penh, was arrested on Saturday by anti-human trafficking and juveline protection police at his home in Chamkarmon district’s Boueng Keng Kang III commune.

Director of Phnom Penh’s anti-human trafficking and juvenile police Keo Thea said Shepard was charged in connection to the sexual abuse of two brothers, 13 and 16-years-old.

“He was arrested based on the complaints of the two victims, who claim that they had been sexually abused by Shepard several times, as far back as 2008,” said Keo Thea. “According to our investigation, Mr. Shepard has had sexual relations with several Cambodian boys and young men during his time in the country.”

Shepard has been sent to Prey Sor prison where he will await his sentencing while police compile evidence and conduct an investigation covering his entire stint in Cambodia.

Country director for Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) Samleang Seila said Shepard reportedly entered Cambodia in 2002.

“I appreciate that he has been arrested, but I regret that this did happen sooner. Shepard came to APLE’s attention in 2007, when his neighbors reported suspicious activity, as he was often taking different boys into his home,” said Samleang Seila.

2011-12-14T23:08:00.000-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

THE owner of a Phnom Penh guesthouse was sentenced to 18 months in jail and fined 2 million riels (US$500 ) yesterday for permitting drug use and harbouring drug users. The owner of Rasmei Phka Chhouk II guesthouse in Daun Penh district, 36-year-old Prum Sophea, was arrested on March 19 this year, along with 11 others when police raided his guesthouse.

2011-12-14T23:07:00.000-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A TEACHER of traditional healing in Banteay Meanchey province was yesterday charged with raping his niece over a two-month period while he was supposedly treating her for a nervous disorder, police said.
Serei Sophoan district police chief Rem Vireak said 57-year-old Chhim Phea was arrested on Sunday and then charged after his niece’s parents discovered their daughter was two-months pregnant and that her uncle was the father.
The 21-year-old girl had been suffering from a nervous disorder for several years before her parents decided to send her from their home in Svay Rieng province to her uncle’s home for treatment by him.
“Chhim Phea was a famous and respected Khmer traditional healing teacher in the village,” Rem Vireak told the Post yesterday. “He had raped her many times while she stayed for treatment at his house and he impregnated her.”
Sum Chankea, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said such a crime merited severe punishment.

2011-12-14T23:06:00.000-08:00

By BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA

A MAN who allegedly robbed a gold merchant was shot and killed by police after a brief stand-off in Kampong Cham province’s Chamkar Leu district. Chamkar Leu district police chief Ed Dara said the alleged thief, Morn March, was shot by police officers after he robbed a gold merchant and tried to allegedly attack police officers with a knife during an attempted arrest. “He was shot dead by police after he tried to use a large knife to attack our officers attempting to make an arrest,” said Ed Dara. Police confiscated the stolen gold and returned it to the merchant at the Chamkar Leu Market.

2011-12-14T23:05:00.000-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Two men and one woman were officially charged with illegally operating brothels yesterday by the Pailin provincial court.
Police said the suspects, 52-year-old Sim Kieth, 48-year-old In Mao and 38-year-old Choeun Thea, were arrested on Monday in Pailin town when police raided two guesthouse’s being used as brothels.
Deputy chief of Palin police Chea Chan Din said 13 female sex workers were taken from the Deum Chhart and Ponnleu Preah Chan guesthouses during the raid and sent to a provincial rehabilitation center.
“If the brothel owners are found guilty they will face a minimum of five years in prison,”said Chean Chan Din.

2011-12-14T23:04:00.000-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Suspects in the high-profile corruption scandal that has rocked Senate president Chea Sim’s office were questioned in Phnom Penh Municipal Court for a second time yesterday over allegations they repeatedly engineered scams involving hundreds of millions of dollars.

Five of Chea Sim’s former staffers were arrested last month on allegations they had used their close connections with the high-ranking ruling party senator to defraud at least 51 companies from across the region on phony humanitarian and infrastructure projects.

Chea Sim’s former protocol chief, Pheng Kunthea Borey, and former advisors Chan Kosal and Pornlok Ho were questioned by presiding judge Chaing Sinath yesterday about documents that were seized from their properties, deputy prosecutor Meas Chanpiseth said.

“They were asked direct questions related to their accusations. They were also asked to testify about their companies and the documents or materials seized from their houses,” he said

Adorned in standard business clothes outside of court instead of the prison garb he has been forced to wear since his arrest, Chan Kosal said Chaing Sinath focused on his company Koy Sambath Cambodia, which he said had completed all projects it was commissioned to develop.

“I have devoted myself and works for Samdech Chea Sim’s humanitarian projects in order to make benefits for the whole Cambodian children. I had never received any cent of money from Samdech Chea Sim’s projects,” he said.

He claimed to not have received any recompense for a completed US$200,000 road connecting Svay Rieng town to Romeas Haek District in Svay Rieng province that he had paid for and constructed through his company.

On the website of a Malaysian company called Fasfik linked to the scam, Koy Sambath Cambodia is listed as the firm that had awarded them a contract to build a road and develop a township in Mondulkiri.

Chan Kosal’s lawyer Tep Mony Cheat denied his client’s firm had any association to Fasfik yesterday but conceded it did have above board dealings the Malaysian owned C4C fund.

Ponlork Ho alleged police had raided his house without informing his defence lawyer and claimed items seized did not belong to him.

“I absolutely deny this luggage belonged to me…there was no such luggage or documents in my house,” he said.

Suy Chhun Hak , the lawyer of the woman alleged to have been the ring leader of the scam - Pheng Kunthea Boery – professed her client’s innocence and said he would lodge a request for bail.

A former member of Chea Sim’s cabinet charged in connection with the scam, Khieu Bora, was not required at court yesterday because investigations into him had already been concluded, an anonymous court official said yesterday.

2011-12-14T23:03:00.000-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A teenage boy was sentenced in absentia Tuesday to three years in prison by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court after being found guilty of raping a 5-year-old girl last year. The 15-year-old convict, who remains at large, was also fined US$1,000. Presiding judge for the court Chaing Sinath said the teenager was charged based on complaints filed by the victim’s mother, which state he raped her daughter on September 25, 2010, in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district. “The court orders his arrest, in order for him to serve his jail term,” the judge said. The attorney for the convicted teenager could not be reached for comment yesterday.

2011-12-14T23:02:00.000-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A MOTODOP was found guilty of dealing crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, and sentenced to two years in prison at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday. Presiding judge Suos Sam Ath said yesterday 24-year-old Tak Neang had been caught in possession of 79.25 grams of ice outside the gates of the Institute of Technology of Cambodia in Toul Kork district’s Teuk La’ak III commune on March 7.

On March 9 he was charged with trafficking by police with trafficking, an offense he had been found guilty of.

2011-12-14T23:01:00.000-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A BROTHEL owner was found guilty of harbouring sex workers and providing them food in return for performing sexual services with clients by Phnom Penh Municipal court yesterday.

Meach Buny was sentenced to six years in prison for illegally operating a brothel in Chamkarmon district’s Tonle Bassac commune last year, presiding judge Sous Sam Ath said yesterday.

The defendant had provided between five and eight sex workers with food in exchange for performing sex work and charged the women a 50 percent commission on their earnings, which came from both local and foreign clients, he added.

Meach Buny denied exchanging food for sex yesterday and has 30 days to appeal the sentence.

2011-12-14T22:59:00.000-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A corruption trial against Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cousin Dy Proem, who is alleged to have paid a US$200,000 bribe to sway favour in a Phnom Penh land dispute, began yesterday.

Presiding Judge Duch Kimsorn said yesterday only new evidence would be examined in the court’s retrial of Dy Proem who allegedly bribed an official to issue a fake March 18 Council of Ministers statement awarding disputed land to him in Dangkor district’s Kakab Commune.

“This is the second time as the court has conducted the trial for Mr. Seng Yean and Dy Proem over the allegation of corruption,” he said.

The man who allegedly received the bribe, former deputy general director of the Inspection Department at the Ministry of National Assembly-Senate Relation and Inspection, has also been charged over the allegations.

The charges followed a complaint from widow and Phnom Penh landowner Houth Sarom, who claims that unlike 120 other families, she never sold her land to Dy Proem.

Long Narin, lawyer for Ministry of National Assembly, Senate Relation and Inspection, said there was documented proof the pair were guilty.

Neither of the accused pair could be reached for comment yesterday.

2011-12-14T22:57:00.000-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A MAN was charged with producing pornography and threatening his former girlfriend by the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Court on Saturday, after he allegedly took nude photographs of her and threatened to post them on the Internet, police said yesterday.
Provincial police said Ngen Kumpheak, 26, was charged following a complaint from the parents of his former girlfriend, with whom he had been secretly involved.
Yi Sokha, director of the province’s anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection unit, said the man had taken the photos and threatened his 21-year-old former girlfriend in an attempt to prevent her from getting engaged to another man.
Yi Sokha said that Ngen Kumpheak had asked the woman to meet in a guesthouse for one last encounter on November 17, promising to return a platinum necklace that belonged to her at the same time. When she arrived in the room he forced her to undress, then took photographs of her and told her he would upload them on the Internet if she got engaged to another man.
The two were distant relatives, the officer said. Their secret affair became known to the family when the woman’s parents found nude pictures of their daughter posted on her wardrobe, after Ngen Kumpheak had paid them a visit, police said.
“Following a complaint from the victim’s family, police detained the suspect on [Friday] for questioning. He confessed to the allegations,” Yi Sokha added.

2011-12-14T22:55:00.002-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A former Cambodian ambassador to Brunei convicted of stealing more than $US430,000 in connection with money intended for the building of a new embassy office was sentenced in absentia on Friday to four years in prison.

Judge Kor Vandy of Phnom Penh Municipal Court said that former ambassador and Funcinpec lawmaker Nan Sy, 48, would also be fined eight million riel, or about $2,000, in addition to the prison term.

Ky Tech, a lawyer for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, which launched the initial complain, said he appreciated the court’s decision. “I think that the court’s verdict is acceptable, and I was pleased as the court has found justice for my client,” he told the Post yesterday, adding that Nan Sy had been expelled from his ambassador position on May 11 after the embezzlement became known.

In 2008, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation sent a large amount of money to Nan Sy via the embassy’s bank account in order to construct a Cambodian embassy office in Brunei.

In May, when a Brunei Construction Company executive sent a bill seeking final payment on the project, an audit was launched revealing the embezzlement of $432,876.65, Ky Tech said.

In addition to the criminal case, a civil suit is now pending, though a date has not been set yet for trial.

“For the civil case, I would like to ask the court to force him return $432, 876.65 to the Ministry, and ask him to pay 200 million riel [$49,600] in compensation,” Ky Tech said. “I would also like to ask the court to strongly punish him by the laws.”

Nan Sy and his defense lawyer, Keo Ya, could not reached for comment. However, during Nan Sy’s trial on November 2, Keo Ya denied the allegations against his client, saying there was no real proof.

2011-12-14T22:55:00.001-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A woman who allegedly strangled her boyfriend to death was officially charged with murder yesterday by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court after she was arrested on Saturday in the Toul Sangke commune of the capital’s Russei Keo district.

The suspect, 30-year-old Sam Sorphea, was arrested Saturday at her residence in Toul Sangke commune after police said she used a piece of nylon rope to strangle her 40-year-old boyfriend, Sok Mao, while he was sleeping.

Huy Hean, Chief of the Toul Sangke commune police, said that Sam Sorphea previously lived in Svay Rieng province where she was married to a friend of Sok Mao. However, he said the suspect admitted that Sok Mao and she agreed to run away together to Phnom Penh, where they would be married.

“She [Sam Sorphea] decided to kill her boyfriend when she became angry that he [Sok Mao] had broken a promise by refusing to marry her after she ran away from her husband to live with him in Phnom Penh,”

Som Sorphea, who is awaiting sentencing, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

2011-12-14T22:54:00.001-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A gold seller was shot dead and robbed of 12 million Riel (US$ 30,000) while driving with her teenage daughter yesterday in Choam Chao commune of Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district, said police
Choam Chao commune police chief Mam Hor said the victim, Chhuon Theara, also known as Mom, was shot three times in the chest and robbed by a group of five or six men brandishing a gun, while she driving a motorbike to the Olympic Market with her teenage daughter.
“She died while she was being sent for immediate medical attention at a private clinic in Dangkor district,” he said.
The police chief also confirmed that the teenage passenger was uninjured.
“The robbers successfully escaped after firing at the victims and taking the money,” he said.
Police have launched an investigation into the whereabouts of the suspects at large.

2011-12-14T22:53:00.000-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A Thai woman and five Cambodian men were charged drug trafficking drug use by the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court after they were arrested in O’Chrou commune’s Poipet town on Saturday.
Thai national and 34-year-old dealer at a Poipet town casino Chan Lichiphorn was arrested along with five men: Bot Sreang, 37, Sok Hor, 24, Sou Tou, 19, Bot Mao, 32, and Ka Rina, 35, after police discovered 2 packages of amphetamines and drug paraphernalia during a raid upon their residence on Saturday in Poipet town.
Chief of Poipet commune penal police Prum Visith said the six suspects are being detained in Banteay Meanchey’s provincial prison where they await sentencing.

2011-12-14T22:52:00.000-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A DEFENCE lawyer acting for the wife of tycoon Khaou Chuly yesterday slammed a high-profile Appeal Court decision to uphold her conviction for attempted murder as having “no transparency”.

Seng Chenda’s appeal against her 20-year jail sentence failed on Friday.

Along with three accomplices, the 46-year-old had been found guilty of plotting to murder Sun Sotha - Khaou Chuly’s daughter from a previous marriage – at Phnom Penh Municipal Court in February.

During her appeal, it was alleged that she was innocent.

Her maid Chan Sokha, who is also serving 18 years for attempted murder, claimed that she had overheard discussions between Khaou Chuly and his son about a murder plot – an accusation he strongly denied.

Deputy Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal Ngeth Sarath confirmed yesterday that all the guilty verdicts had been upheld.

“The Court of Appeal has upheld the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s convictions on Seng Chenda and her three associates. They were convicted from 18 to 20 years in jail each,” he said.

A lawyer acting on behalf of Sun Sotha yesterday said the decision was “justice for my client”, adding that he had strong evidence against the tycoon’s wife and her associates to take to a possible appeal at the Supreme Court.

But Lim Vann, a defence lawyer for Seng Chenda, still asserted her innocence stating: “I think that the decision has no transparency and has not provided justice for my client.”

Seng Chenda and Oknha Khaou Chuly could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

2011-12-14T22:50:00.000-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A SECOND man was arrested yesterday over the kidnapping of Sau Akno, the son of General Sau Phan, deputy director of the general commissariat of the National Police, police said.

Sao Bon, 40, was charged with kidnapping Sau Akno on October 3 and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Sear Sambath, chief of the penal crime investigation office at national military police, said Sao Bon was arrested on Sunday in Kampong Trabaek district, Kandal province.

His arrest follows military police detaining and charging Suth Sophy in Sen Monorom district, Mondolkiri province last week.

Other kidnappers, including suspected ringleader Nguon Soeur, remain at large.

Sear Sambath said six other suspected kidnappers had escaped to France, Sweden and Thailand, while some were probably still in the country.

Military police sent Sao Bon to Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday where he was charged and remanded in custody.

Sau Akno was kidnapped on October 3, in Chroy Changva commune, Russey Keo district.

The kidnappers released him on October 23 for an undisclosed figure suggested to be about $US500,000.

Sau Phan and his family could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Sear Sambath said police were working with French police via the French embassy in Cambodia to search for the suspected kidnappers who remained on the run.

2011-12-14T22:49:00.000-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A COUSIN of Prime Minister Hun Sen was found guilty in absentia of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison yesterday but remains free in Phnom Penh as a warrant for her arrest has still not been issued.
Dy Proem, 49, was found guilty of paying a US$200,000 bribe to the former deputy general director of the inspection department at the Ministry of National Assembly-Senate Relations and Inspection, Seng Yean, in connection with a Phnom Penh land dispute in 2008.
Presiding Judge Duch Kimsorn told the court that Dy Proem bribed Seng Yean to issue a fake Council of Ministers statement on March 18, 2008, falsely claiming she was the rightful owner of 5 hectares of disputed land in Dangkor District’s Kakab Commune.
“Based on proof and witnesses, the court has found that Seng Yean and Dy Proem are guilty,” he said, without explaining why no arrest warrant had been issued.
Seng Yean was handed a four-year sentence, also in absentia - though he, too, freely walks the streets of Phnom Penh - for accepting the bribe, and was ordered to pay US$40,000 in compensation to the Ministry of National Assembly-Senate Relations and Inspection.
During the trial, both defendants were granted bail and neither was summonsed for questioning, in apparent violation of the 1993 UNTAC criminal law.
Kao Ty, the lawyer of plaintiff Huoth Sarom, vowed to sue Judge Duch Kimsorn at the Supreme Council of Judges soon, alleging that arrest warrants had never been issued for either of the suspects because of political interference.
“I do not accept the court’s verdicts for Mr. Seng Yean and Dy Proem, because it was made with wrong court procedures. I also do not accept their sentences, because they are small - they do not fit their crimes,” he said.
Arrest warrants had not been issued for the pair, he alleged, because of their connections to Prime Minister Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
The prime minister has publicly distanced himself from the case in the past, saying in December 2010 that the law “does not think about relatives” and that if guilty, his cousin should be “strongly punished”.
Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodia Defenders Project, said the anti-corruption law technically allowed the court to not issue an arrest warrant for a guilty party, though this was set to change on December 10 when it is set to begin referencing the new penal law.
“If it is a felony, maybe she must be arrested, but there are two ways: [if she is] arrested under detention [a misdemeanor], there is no need to arrest,” he said, adding if an arrest warrant is not issued within five years, Dy Proem’s conviction would be annulled completely.
Panhavuth Long, a project officer at the Cambodia Justice Initiative, said the sentence was surprising given that Pursat provincial prosecutor Top Chan Sereyvuth was found guilty of corruption and imprisoned earlier this year.
“How come they found her guilty of corruption? You charge her and you found her guilty, and then you say that is not applicable because the corruption provision is not applicable, that is very strange,” he said.
Khieu Sophal and Chhiv Theng, the defence lawyers of Sean Yeng and Dy Proem respectively, both failed to attend court for the verdict but later denied their clients had committed any wrongdoing.

Seng Yean and Dy Proem and their defense lawyers were not presented in the court during the verdict announcement yesterday. They could not reach for comments. However, during their clients’ trial on 27th October 2011, their defense lawyers had denied the charges against them.

Khieu Sophal, Seng Yean’s Defense Lawyer, said : “No real proofs or evidence to express that my client had committed corruption as accused. All raised proofs against him were only a doubt and thinking and they can not put a burden against him.”

Chhiv Theng, Dy Proem’s defense lawyer, said:“ My client was not involved with her accusation and she had also never given any money to Seng Yean for works or for issuing a Council of Ministers’ announcement as accused. The accusation was injustice for her.” ////

2011-12-14T22:48:00.000-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
Armed robbers shot a woman yesterday and allegedly stole more than $US24,000 from the 48-year-old who ran a money exchange and gold shop in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district.
At about 10:15 Chhuon Theara was shot dead while driving a motorbike with her teenage daughter on it by five or six men that staged the robbery, Choam Chao commune police chief Mam Hor said yesterday. ‘
She was carrying a bag with 100 million riel ($US24,557) when someone opened fire.
“Three bullets were shot into her chests while she was driving a motorbike and carrying a big amount of exchanged Khmer money,” he said.
“She died while she was rushed for immediate rescue at a hospital in Phnom Penh”.
The victim was traveling on a routine trip from her home in Choam Chao Commune’s Prey Tea Village to exchange money at Olympic market, Mam Hor said.
“They were stopped and robbed while they were driving and arrived at a quiet place in the village. The robbers then successfully escaped from the place after they fired at the two victims and took the money,” he said.

2011-12-14T22:47:00.000-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A former military officer of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) who worked in Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit was arrested on Saturday and charged with counts of rape, breach of trust and fraud by the Kandal Provincial Court.
Prosecutor of the court Ouk Kimseth said 57-year-old Chea Chan Sophal, also known as Chanputrithy, was charged based on the complaints of three women and one man, tying the suspect to rape as well as using his previous status as a military officer as leverage to illegally obtain possessions.
“He was already charged by the court after the completion of his questioning last week,” he said.
Kandal provincial police officer Sath Saroeun said the suspect would allegedly wear his old RCAF uniform to make it appear he was an active officer and in turn use this false pretense of authority to borrow individual’s belongings without returning them.
A 20-year-old woman in Kampong Thom is accusing Chea Chan Sophal of raping her in 2010. A 28-year-old shop owner in Kandal province claims the suspect borrowed several thousand US dollars worth of construction materials, but refused to pay. Another victim, a 20-year-old man, claims the suspect borrowed his motorbike at the beginning of this year and has yet to return it.
“He is now staying at the provincial court where he is awaiting his trial,” said Ouk Kimseth.

2011-12-14T22:45:00.002-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

ONE of five of alleged accomplices with close ties to Senate President Chea Sim accused of being complicit in a scam was formally charged on Wednesday evening with fraud and producing fake public documents.
National Military Police chief Kheng Tito said yesterday Chea Sim’s protocol chief Kunthea Borey was charged based on information provided by the Senate president’s former Bodyguard Unit chief, Chhoeun Chanthan, who was arrested in August in connection with the same case.
“She was then sent by police to detention at Prey Sor Prison awaiting further investigations and trial in the future,” he said yesterday.
Police lieutenant general Chan Kosal, former cabinet member Khieu Bora, and lieutenant general Ponlork Ho, who were arrested on Friday and Sunday last week, had all been charged in connection with the scam based on information from Chhoeun Chanthan.
Kheng Tito declined to comment on the specific scam that the charges had been made in connection to but Ponlork Ho and Cha Kosal are both prominently featured on the blog of Malaysian businessman Armin Baniaz Pahamin in connection with an unspecified business deal.
Armin Baniaz Pahamin has not responded to inquiries from the Post.
Kouy Thunna, Kunthea Borey’s defense lawyer, denied the allegations against his client and vouched for her good character.
He added that Kunthea Borey was only the victim of the police’s arrests because she had not committed any wrong things against the laws.
“She is very sincere and honest. Based on her sincerity and honesty, I can assume that she is also a victim in this case,” he said.
Kunthea Borey’s fall from grace had taken her from a respected position in society to a prison cell with 40 other inmates, he added, and requested she be released on bail based on her proven good character.
Kouy Thunna also declined to provide specific details of the scam she was implicated in.

She was very sincere and honest. Based on her sincerity and honesty, I could assume that she is also a victim of this case. Therefore, I would like to ask the prosecutor to drop charges against her and release her,” he told the Phnom Penh Post.

2011-12-14T22:45:00.001-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

While her husband was working in a mine only 300 metres away, a woman was brutally murdered and robbed in her home on Sunday morning in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district.

Sok Mony, police officer in the district’s Kleng commune, said Som Mao, 46, was gagged before her throat was slit and the suspect fled the scene.

“She was robbed while she was staying alone and cooking rice for her husband and other workers. Before murdering her, the robber put a cotton scarf into her mouth, so she would not be able to shout for help. He then cut her throat and almost separated her head from her body,” the officer said.

The thief then made away with US $1,000, a chunk of gold from the mine, a motorbike and a mobile phone.

Police said they have identified a suspect, but would not release a name because they were close to making an arrest.

“We are still working the investigation and seeking the robber. Based on our experience, we hope we will arrest him soon,” Sok Mony said.

Nhem Sarath, a monitor for the rights group ADHOC in Kampong Thom, said police must take strict actions and measures to prevent such a crime from happening in the future.

“I think that this is very cruel for the victim. We will follow up and conduction an investigation about this case,” he said.

2011-12-14T22:42:00.000-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

TWO men were charged yesterday over the rape and murder of a 36-year-old woman in Phnom Srouch district’s Taing Khya commune, in Kampong Speu province, on Saturday, police said.
Sorn Sak, Deputy Chief of Kampong Speu Provincial Police, said Sok Rith, 25, and Chan Na, 26, were charged with raping and murdering Morn Sok, also known as Ith.
Sorn Sak said two men raped the victim on a rice field.
“After raping, they killed her by putting pressure on her throat,” he told the Post yesterday.
Sorn Sak said Morn Sok, who was single, was found dead by villagers at her rice field in Kraing Tatoan Village.
An examination indicated she had been raped and murdered.
Sorn Sak said the two suspects lived in the same village as the victim and were arrested as they tried to flee the province.

2011-12-14T22:41:00.002-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A British national, who was previously arrested in 2005 on charges of child prostitution, stood trial yesterday at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court again on charges stemming from the purchase of child prostitution last year in Kandal province.
Presiding judge Oeung Seang, identified British national Michael Julian Leach, a 50-year-old tourist from London, as the individual being charged with the purchase of child prostitution.
The judge said Leach was arrested in September of 2010 at the Sneha One Guesthouse in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district on suspicion of sexually abusing three girls between the ages of 10 and 15. Five others are facing charges based on answers Leach gave to police during his questioning upon arrest.
Four Cambodians: 46-year-old Penh Phath, 42-year-old Nov Nhanh, 48-year-old Pheth Choeun, 46-year-old Sim Savoeun are being charged with being accomplices to child prostitution.
Sem Deth, 45-year-old female guesthouse owner, is being charged with providing a location for child prostitution.
Lawyer for the three victims Nuon Phanith, said Leach was previously arrested in 2005 while he worked as a doctor for a children’s organization in the Phnom Penh and allegedly had sex with underage girls. However, the charges were dropped after the court cited a lack of evidence.
“Today there is plenty of proof and evidence to prove he [Leach] has really committed his crimes. I hope that the court will find justice for the victims. I would like to ask the court to strongly punish him in accordance with law in Cambodia and expel him from the country after he has served his prison sentence,” Noun Phanith said.
He also recommended to the court that Leach be ordered to pay the three victims a total of US$ 15,000 in compensation.
Two of the Cambodians denied their charges as being accomplices yesterday.
“I confess that I used to drive him [Leach] to shop and eat at restaurants in Phnom Penh, but I did not know about his activities. I was not involved in the crimes. Therefore, I would like to ask the court to release me,” Hay Seila said.
Michael Julian Leach and his attorney could not be reached for comments yesterday.
Judge Oeung Seng said that the trial’s verdict would be made on September 8.

2011-12-14T22:41:00.001-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Forty-nine pythons, weighing from 20 to 30 kilograms each, were released into Koh Kong’s Stung Proat river on Saturday after being confiscated from a businessman in Kandal province’s Koh Thom district, an officer from Wildlife Alliance said yesterday.
“We were asked by provincial police to take the snakes from them on Friday,” he told the Post.
He added that he was informed by police that the suspect was a police officer who worked at the Cambodian-Vietnamese border checkpoint in Koh Thom district. His SUV was also confiscated, but he was later released by police after his arrest and questioning.
Iv Chamroeun, chief of the Kandal Police, contradicted that version of events, saying that the suspect had not been released but, in fact, escaped. He added that the 404 kilograms of pythons were confiscated on Thursday at about 3:30 pm at a police checkpoint located in Koh Thom district’s Sampao Puon commune, while the suspect was trying to export them for sale in Vietnam.
“The suspect escaped after he was cracked down on by police. We now are searching for his arrest in order to bring him to the justice,” he said.

2011-12-14T22:37:00.000-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

The former head of Phnom Penh’s anti-human trafficking police was tried in absentia yesterday with soliciting protection money from brothel owners and paying officers to hide underage sex workers, even after he was sacked.

Eam Rattana, the former chief of the Phnom Penh Municipal anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection police office was sacked in 2009 but allegedly continued to assist brothel owners until he was charged with corruption in April this year.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court Presiding Judge Duch Kimsorn, said the 54-year-old fled who fled into hiding in April this year shortly after a warrant was issued for his arrest, provided protection to three men running sexual services out of their coffee shops.

“Eam Rattana ordered to his closest people to collect money for him from a number of brothels for his protection from police crack downs or arrests,” he said.

He is accused of providing protection to 53-year-old Sok Heng, 45-year-old Ly Mao and 50-year-old Nguyen Yaing Tung, even after being demoted to deputy chief of staff for the Phnom Penh Municipal Police Commissioner.

Sok Heng was arrested during a raid on his coffee shop in Daun Penh district’s Boeung Raing commune while Ly Mao and Nguven Yaing Tung both also managed to evade police capture.

Municipal anti-human trafficking police officer Pov Heng testified that Eam Rattana asked him to provide information about investigations into brothel owners who paid him a monthly fee and alert him to police raids against them - during a meeting in October 2010.

“To work this for him I was paid an extra [US]$200 from him per month. I got this money from him every month, on the fifth at the beginning of every new month,” he said.

Another of Eam Rattana’s former subordinates, Sok Reaksmey, said the accused paid him to hide sex workers under 18-years-old during the raids.

“I also received $200 from him per month,” he said.

Defendant Sok Heng denied he had run a brothel from his coffee shop and said he had merely borrowed money from his old friend Eam Rattana occasionally, whom he’d known since 1986.

But he alleged he had collected money from brothel owners for his boss’s replacement, current chief of the Phnom Penh Municipal anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection police office, Keo Thea.

“I used to collect US$ 2500 from five brothels to Keo Thea every per month. I gave him [the money] via his police officer, Sreng Hong,” he said.

Keo Thea said the accusation was completely false and motivated by spite because he had replaced Eam Rattana after he was sacked for corruption – a close friend of Sok Heng.

“As a competent police official, I have always strictly obeyed police discipline and the laws. I could not commit this stupid thing. I think that this accusation is aimed at destroying my good profile, reputation and honor,” he said.

Prosecutor Hor Lina told the court there was sufficient evidence through investigations, research, documents and testimony to meet the burden of proof against all the accused.

“I would like to ask the court to decide on their case and punish them by the law,” he said.
Ly Mao, Nguven Yaing Tung and their defense lawyers could not reach for comment.

Duch Kimsorn said verdicts will be handed down on December 20.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-12-14T22:35:00.000-08:00

TWO Chinese men were arrested on Tuesday night over the murder of a third Chinese man – their friend – at a restaurant in Phnom Penh.
Chan Sahouth, deputy chief of Russey Keo district police, said Uorng Faphing, 23, and Kour Yin Kuoy, 25, were arrested about 8:30pm in Prek Liep commune, Russey Keo district.
He said the men were accused of killing their friend during an alcohol-fuelled argument at a restaurant in Russey Keo district’s Bak Kheng commune.
“They got very drunk and they had been arguing with their friend. They jointly beat him and used a knife to cut his neck,” Chan Sahouth said.
He said a police investigation had determined that tempers had flared when the victim asked to borrow money from Kour Yin Kuoy to pay his rent and had become verbally abusive when the suspect refused.
“They are being detained at our police office for further questioning. They will be sent to court for charges (today),” he said.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:14:00.001-08:00

FIVE men were temporarily arrested and questioned by Kandal provincial police on Monday night in connection with the illegal smuggling of over 70 turtles, officials said yesterday.

Tith Vong, chief of the provincial economic office, said that the men were apprehended and questioned after police discovered three cases containing 71 turtles in a van in Koh Thom district on Monday night. However, the driver of the van, who is believed to be responsible for the turtle smuggling, fled and remains at large.

“The five men were released [after questioning] because they are not relevant to the transportation of the turtles,” Tith Vong said.

Soun Sovann, deputy director of the Forestry Administration’s department of legislation and law enforcement, said yesterday that turtles were one of the most frequently smuggled forms of wildlife.

He added that over the past six months, authorities nationwide have cracked down on 73 wildlife smuggling cases, seizing 2,584 animals and 477 kilogrammes of meat.

“Some of the seized animals were released into the wild, while others were sent to the Forestry Administration. The sick animals were cured and taken to be cared for at the Phnom Tamao Zoo,” Soun Sovann said.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:13:00.000-08:00

AN Indonesian tourist, who is embroiled in a court case over a US$60,000 theft, was put on trial again yesterday for stealing an additional $35,000 from a telecommunications company cashier. The second trial came despite his claims he was not in Cambodia at the time of either offence.

Dainavil Saputra, aged 27, appeared at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday along with fellow holidaymaker 32-year-old Rahman Ali.

Judge Keo Mony said they were arrested in March this year after Metfone cashier Chea Samneang had $35,000 stolen from her on February 9. She had taken out money for staff salaries from an Acleda bank branch in Phnom Penh. While carrying the cash to her office in Tuol Kork district, she was robbed.

“Dainavil Saputra is a main suspect in this case. Rahman Ali is the suspected motorbike driver who helped Dainavil Saputra to escape after he successfully stole the money,” said the judge.

Dainavil Saputra has also been charged by the court with stealing more than $60,000 from a 45-year-old woman on February 24 in Phnom Penh. That case is currently being reinvestigated, so police can investigate claims that he was not in the Kingdom at the time.

Yesterday, both men denied the charges, reiterating they were in Indonesia when the offence took place. They said they entered Cambodia as tourists via Poipet International Checkpoint from February 5 to 9 and again on March 15, before their arrest.

Defence lawyer Pich Sorya said they had been wrongfully arrested. “There is no proof or evidence … because they were not staying in Cambodia. I would like to ask the court to drop charges against them and release them,” he said.

A verdict is due August 31.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:12:00.002-08:00

A 30 YEAR-OLD Sierra Leone man was tried in absentia yesterday by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on charges of sending over 200 grams of heroin through the Cambodian post.

Duch Kimsorn, presiding judge at the court, said that Kapo Alfred, a Sierra Leone tourist, was charged by the court on March 15 for international drug trafficking.

The alleged drug-trafficker sent 226 total grams of heroin in five separate envelopes to three separate addresses in Australia, Duch Kimsorn said.

“He put the drugs inside five envelopes and mailed it to Australia. This is against the law,” Duch Kimsorn said.

Chap Socheat, the Daun Penh Post Office’s chief of administration, said that on March 10 his staff reported irregular mail pieces. Upon inspection, Chap Socheat discovered that the five envelopes contained heroin. One of the envelopes listed Kapo Alfred’s nickname, Chris Alfred, as the sender, which was how authorities caught him.

Deputy prosector Meas Chanpiseth said in court yesterday that the police investigation had proven that Kapo Alfred was the sole sender of the envelopes.

“There is enough evidence to prove that Kapo Alfred sent the drug envelopes. Therefore, I would like to ask the court to sentence him according to Cambodia’s laws,” he said.

Bun Kong, Kapo Alfred’s defense lawyer, denied the charges against his client yesterday in court, claiming that there was no proof that his client was guilty.

“There is no evidence that shows that my client was the owner of these envelopes, so I’m asking the court to drop the charges against him,” he said.

A verdict in the case is scheduled to be delivered on October 12.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:12:00.001-08:00

AT least 22 families living in the capital’s Chamkarmon district are being forced to sell their land at below market value to the Thai Bun Roong Company in order to make way for a housing development, villagers said Wednesday.

Village representative Chhim Veasna said that the families, living on a parcel of land in Tonle Bassac commune known as T85, have received a notice from the Council of Ministers mandating that they sell their land for $400 per square metre.

The villagers say their land is worth between $2,000 and $2,500 per square metre.

“We are very concerned about our houses and living situation because we are being forced to move by the Thai Bun Roong Compnay,” Chhim Veasna said.

“They want to expel us from our places by forcing us to sell our houses to them at the lowest prices.”

A Council of Ministers notice was obtained by the Post on Wednesday. Dated September 8 and signed by Secretary of State Prak Sokhonn, it orders villagers to decide between selling their land for $400 per square metere or relocating to 4.3 metre by 16 metre lots in Dangkor district’s Choam Chao commune.

Chhim Veasna said that the villagers have been living on the land since 1990.

“We all agreed that we will not sell our houses to the company unless they offer a fair price. We will continue to live and stay here until there is a fair solution,” he said, appealing to Prime Minister Hun Sen to intervene and save the villagers from “Thai Bun Roong Company’s intimidating and forcing”.

The villagers would be willing to sell the land at between $1,000 and $2,000 per square metre, Chhim Veasna added.

Villager Meas Sovanna said that Thai Bun Roong Company agents had intimidated her and tried to force her to sell her land cheaply.

“I will not move my house to the new place unless there is fair compensation,” she said.

“If we are evicted, we will hold a big demonstration against it,” she added.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said yesterday that he had not heard of this specific complaint, but promised to look into the issue on Friday. He surmised that the Council of Ministers document that the villagers were referring to might be fake, because the government does not set land-sale prices in negotiations between companies and villagers.

A representative of Bun Roong Company could not be reached for comment yesterday.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:10:00.000-08:00

THE director of a foreign NGO in Siem Reap town was questioned in court yesterday in connection with alleged indecent acts with minors following his arrest during a police raid on Saturday, officials said.

Sun Bunthang, chief of the Siem Reap provincial anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection police, said that 38-year-old Dutchman Sebastiann Reuyly, who heads NGO Generation Next Cambodia, was arrested by police at his office and detained for questioning.

“He was charged with indecent acts against minors under 15 years old,” he said.

Sun Bunthang said that police investigators found that Reuyly had abused five Cambodian children between 7 and 13 years of age in his room at the centre, and that police had rescued a 7-year-old girl from his room during the raid.

Samleang Seila, country director for NGO Action Pour Les Enfants, said that his organisation will provide free legal services for the children.

“I would like to appeal to the parents of children to bring out their children from this centre,” he said, adding that Generation Next Cambodia has been operating in Siem Reap for more than a year, offering free education, food and accommodation to poor children.

“I would like also to appeal to the concerned authorities to take action in investigating other foreign children organisations or centres in Siem Reap.”

Samleang Seila said that since 2009, three directors of children’s centres in Siem Reap and Sihanoukville have been arrested for alleged child abuse and indecent acts against minors.

Neither Sebastiann Reuyly nor staff from Generation Next Cambodia could be reached for comment yesterday.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:09:00.001-08:00

A 26-YEAR-OLD man was charged yesterday with the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Banteay Meanchey’s Sisophon Town on Friday morning, officials said yesterday.
Prum Theng, chief of the provincial anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection office, said that Khem Khom, an employee for the girl’s family, was detained by the girl’s parents after he raped her at her house.
“He raped the victim twice before he was arrested,” he said.
In a separate case, a 42-year-old man was arrested yesterday over the rape of 13-year-old girl in Kampong Chhnang province’s Teuk Phos District, district police chief Kim Sareth said.
“She was caught and forcibly raped by the suspect while she went to look after her buffalos in the rice fields,” he said.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:08:00.000-08:00

AN American doctor has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing two teenage boys.

The United States citizen was arrested in the Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmon district at 9.3am on Friday, said Keo Thea, director of the capital’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Police, yesterday.

He said that the suspect had been detained by police and was being questioned regarding the purchase of child prostitution services in Cambodia.

“I expect that he will be charged by the municipal court on Monday,” he said.

The American, he added, had been arrested following contact with the FBI and a search had been conducted of his home.

2011-11-28T22:07:00.002-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

THREE Bangladeshi men and 13 Cambodians were arrested yesterday under suspicion of stealing large quantities of clothing from garment factories in the capital in order to export them overseas, officials said.

Mao Dara, deputy director of the criminal police department in the Ministry of Interior, said yesterday that his office had received several complaints from garment factory owners claiming that their facilities had been robbed of large quantities of clothing.

“Our police force has been spending a lot of time investigating the case which has led to the arrest of those who robbed the garment factories,” Mao Dara said.

He confirmed that authorities had confiscated a large shipping container full of clothing that the men were allegedly transporting with the aim of exporting the items overseas.

“They were arrested when they were trying to transport the stolen clothes for export to the United States of America through [Sihanoukville] port,” he said.

Mao Dara added that the three suspects had divulged the names of 13 Cambodian nationals who were all arrested in connection with the theft.

Municipal court deputy prosecutor Sok Roeun said yesterday that the court had not officially charged the suspects.

“I cannot yet reveal details related to their identification or accusations [against them],” he said.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:07:00.001-08:00

Possession of fake currency and an illegal firearm led to the arrest of two Vietnamese nationals on Tuesday night in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district.

Kong Veasna, an officer of the Phnom Penh Municipal military police, said that Hean Krahan, 66, and Yin Tum, 51, were arrested on Tuesday around 11:30pm in Daun Penh’s Phsar Thmey III commune.

When the suspects were arrested, police confiscated a pistol, 18 bullets, US$ 400 in fake currency, US$ 1,800 of legitimate currency and six mobile cell phones, said Kong Veasna.

He also added that Heang Krahan was carrying a press card issued by the Ministry of Information that identified him as a reporter for the “The Krong Kampuchea Newspaper,” in Phnom Penh.

The two suspects could not be reached yesterday for comment.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:06:00.000-08:00

A 16-YEAR-OLD boy was yesterday jailed for more than three years for the rape on a seven-year-old girl in Phnom Penh last year. The youth was found to have raped the girl on September 20 last year in Chraing Chamresh I Commune, in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district. He was charged in October following a complaint from the victim’s parents and was ordered to pay 3 million riel (about US$750) in compensation yesterday.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday convicted a Khmer Islam boy to 3 years and 6 months in jail over the attempted rape of a juvenile Khmer Islam girl last year in Phnom Penh. It had also ordered him to pay 3 million (about US$ 750) in compensation to her.

Duch Kimsorn, Presiding Judge of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said yesterday that Sos Rosali, 16, was convicted to 3 years and 6 months in jail with attempted rape of a 7-year-old-girl on 20th September 2010 in Village II, Chraing Chamresh I Commune, Russey Keo District, in Phnom Penh.

“The court has found that he has a guilty. It is decided to convict him to 3 years and 6 months in prison and order him to pay 3 million riels in compensation to the victim. It is also ordered to the competent authorities to take measures and actions for his arrest and bring him to serve his term of sentences as the court’s verdict,” he said.

He added that he now had been in escape but he was charged by the court in October 2010, based on the complaint of the victim’s parents.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:04:00.002-08:00

A HUSBAND and wife were given three-year jail sentences, with one year suspended, at Phnom Penh Municipal court yesterday for running a brothel in a massage parlour. Say Thim, aged 26, and his wife Soeun Chenla, aged 25, were arrested during a shop raid in the capital’s Chamkarmon district in March, during which seven women were rescued. Say Thim’s father, 50-year-old Sum Neang, said following the verdict that the couple was innocent and they had only been staying with their cousin at the parlour while finding work in the capital.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:04:00.001-08:00

The Court of Appeal yesterday postponed the hearing of convicted Thai spies Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipapatanapaiboon due to their lack of defense lawyers and Thai interpreters.

Samrith Sophal, a judge at the Court of Appeal, said that the duo’s appeal hearing, which was set to open yesterday, has been postponed to November 28.

“Their case is criminal and [they] must have lawyers to defend them for their hearing. Due to their lack of defense lawyers and interpreters, it is decided to postpone their appealing hearing to November 28,” he told reporters yesterday at the Court of Appeal.

Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipapatanapaiboon were not present at court yesterday. They could not be reached for comments.

Thai Foreign Affairs spokesman Thani Thongpakdee said the defendants are looking after their own defense and declined to comment further.

Pich Vicheka, a former defense lawyer for the two, said that he was not aware of their appeal hearing because he had not been hired to defend them for their appeal.

“I am now no longer involved with their cases,” he said. “I could not comment about their appeal.”

Chiv Song Hak, president of the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia, said that if the two convicted spies are unable to pay for their defense and cannot find lawyers, they can request that the court ask for lawyers from his association.

“The Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia is [happy] to send its lawyers to provide legal services for every suspect if they do not have money to hire lawyers or cannot find defense lawyers. If they need our lawyers, they can request it to the courts,” he told the Post yesterday.

In regard to the lack of interpreters, he added that those can also be requested through the court.

Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipapatanapaiboon were arrested by Cambodian authorities on December 28, 2010, along with other five Thai nationals after illegally crossing into Cambodia near O’Bei Chean Village, in Banteay Meanchey province.

On February 1, Veera Somkwamkid was sentenced by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to a total of 8 years in jail and fined 1.5 million riel (or about US$367), while Ratree Pipapatanapaiboon was convicted to 6 years in jail and fined 1.2 million riel (or $294).

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:03:00.000-08:00

Kidnappers freed the son of a three-star general yesterday in what his father claimed was a case of mistaken identity that led the assailants to drop a US$500,000 ransom demand.
So Akno, the son of Lieutenant General So Phan, the deputy director of the general commissariat of the National Police, was kidnapped on October 8 by a group of armed men who police said then demanded $1 million ransom for his release.
But So Phan said having already halved their demand, the kidnappers released his son yesterday at 2 am without extorting a cent from him.
“I am very happy, as my son has been released from a group of kidnappers, and he was not tortured or injured. I did not pay any money to the kidnappers,” he said, adding he would not pursue the perpetrators through the courts or police.
He denied rumors he had paid US$500,000 to secure his son’s release.
But a police official from the Ministry of Interior, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed the reduced ransom had been paid by So Phan to free his son.
“We now are working hard to arrest these kidnappers to bring them to justice,” he said, adding that the group had been sighted throwing So Akno into a Lexus at 6 pm when they originally kidnapped him from his house in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district.
Touch Naruth, chief of Phnom Penh Municipal Police; Ya Kim Y, chief of Phnom Penh Municipal Military Police; Mok Chito, chief of the Ministry of Interior’s Criminal Police Department; and Khieu Sopheak, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:02:00.000-08:00

TWO young girls drowned in a canal in Banteay Meanchey province’s Mongkol Borei district on Friday afternoon on the way home from visiting their parents in a nearby rice field, officials said yesterday.

Deputy provincial police chief Chan Kosal said that Kunthea Routh, 11, and her 6-year-old sister, Kunthea Neang, drowned in a canal about 400 metres from their house in O’ Prasat commune’s Phnom Prasath village after leaving around midday.

“They have sought out their parents, who left home for a long time to work as rice harvesters for people in the same village. As they returned home along the road, they played in the water of the canal and drowned together,” he said.

Chan Kosal added that witnesses said Kunthea Routh attempted to help when she saw her sister struggling in the water, but neither could swim. Their bodies were discovered by their parents on the bank of the canal that evening, he said.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:01:00.002-08:00

A MAN fronted a police press conference yesterday and spoke of his role in kidnapping So Kano, the son of So Phan, the secretary of state for the Ministry of Interior.

Suth Sophy, 38, said that after So Kano’s kidnapping on October 3, he drove the victim to a rented house in Toek LaakI commune, Toul Kork district.

Cambodian-French So Kano was kidnapped while driving a car near his house in village III, Chroy Changva commune, Russey Keo district.

The kidnappers demanded US$1 million from his family for his release, but after negotiations, the figure was reduced and So Kano was released for an undisclosed amount on October 23.

Suth Sophy claimed to have received US$10,000 for transporting So Kano, but said he had no more involvement with his fellow kidnappers until So Kano’s release, when he was paid.

Sear Sambath, chief of the Office of Crime Offense of National Military Police, said authorities spent 44 days investigating and tracking Suth Sophy before arresting him.

He said 44-year-old Lim Thy and 38-year-old Lvea Chek, two Cambodians believed to be living in France, were suspected ringleaders of the kidnapping, while 32-year-old Klee Sophy, believed to have escaped to Thailand, Cheat Vichet, 23, and a person known as Van were also wanted.

“They rented a villa to detain the victim and carry out the kidnapping. They spent $US13,500 on three guns, 50 bullets and two cars for the kidnapping,” Sear Sambath said.

Authorities searched a villa on Wednesday in Toek Laak I commune, Toul Kork district.

Police found string, sticky plastic, a diary book and a gun cover in the raid.

Sear Sambath said police were working with the French Embassy in Cambodia to hunt for Lim Thy and Lvea Chek.

So Phan and his family could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T22:01:00.001-08:00

MAN who had set himself aflame after his ex-wife refused to reconcile with him died from his wounds at Calmette hospital late Sunday night.
Chhum Pov, a 38-year-old migrant worker, had been rushed to the Phnom Penh hospital from Kampong Cham province’s Stung Trang district on Sunday evening but died soon after arriving, district police chief Chea Thearith said.
Chhum Pov had returned to his village in the district’s Soupheas commune early on Sunday hoping to reconcile with his ex-wife, who had divorced him four months ago, Chea Thearith said.
After failing to convince her to reunite with him, Chhum Pov doused her house in petrol, set it on fire, and then jumped into the flames, Chea Thearith said. Neighbours had to wait for the flames to subside before they could help him.
Chhum Pov was first taken to a district hospital where staff immediately had him transferred to Calmette, the officer said, adding that the deceased’s ex-wife had divorced him because he was unreliable and an alcoholic.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T21:59:00.000-08:00

American national Phillip Bruce Shepard, 68, was officially charged yesterday by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court with purchasing child prostitution.

Shepard, a medical doctor at Princess Clinic in Phnom Penh, was arrested on Saturday by anti-human trafficking and juveline protection police at his home in Chamkarmon district’s Boueng Keng Kang III commune.

Director of Phnom Penh’s anti-human trafficking and juvenile police Keo Thea said Shepard was charged in connection to the sexual abuse of two brothers, 13 and 16-years-old.

“He was arrested based on the complaints of the two victims, who claim that they had been sexually abused by Shepard several times, as far back as 2008,” said Keo Thea. “According to our investigation, Mr. Shepard has had sexual relations with several Cambodian boys and young men during his time in the country.”

Shepard has been sent to Prey Sor prison where he will await his sentencing while police compile evidence and conduct an investigation covering his entire stint in Cambodia.

Country director for Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) Samleang Seila said Shepard reportedly entered Cambodia in 2002.

“I appreciate that he has been arrested, but I regret that this did happen sooner. Shepard came to APLE’s attention in 2007, when his neighbors reported suspicious activity, as he was often taking different boys into his home,” said Samleang Seila.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T21:58:00.000-08:00

THE owner of a Phnom Penh guesthouse was sentenced to 18 months in jail and fined 2 million riels (US$500 ) yesterday for permitting drug use and harbouring drug users. The owner of Rasmei Phka Chhouk II guesthouse in Daun Penh district, 36-year-old Prum Sophea, was arrested on March 19 this year, along with 11 others when police raided his guesthouse.

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

POLICE will investigate a mother’s claim that one of its officers tortured her 9-year-old son in Phnom Penh, an official said yesterday.

Chan Sahouth, Deputy Chief of Russey Keo District Police, said a woman had accused a police officer at the Chraing Chamresh II Commune Police of beating the boy while interrogating him over an alleged steel theft in Russey Keo District on Sunday.

“He has accused and arrested a young boy over the stealing of steel from a construction company in Borey Rity Apartment in Tuol Sangke Commune. [The officer] was accused of torturing him during an interrogation,” Chan Sahouth told the Post.

“If he has really committed this as accused, [he has] violated juvenile rights and the law. He will be arrested or punished by the law, despite [being] a policeman.”

The victim’s mother said a security guard had detained her son and handed him over to the police after the boy had searched for steel with a group of boys inside a building construction site in Borey Rithy Apartment in Tuol Sangke Commune, Russey District.

“[The police officer] has accused my son of stealing steel. He has beaten and slapped my son’s head many times for questioning. His activities were very cruel. I could not accept it,” she said.

Chan Sahouth said commune police would investigate, although they had not yet received a complaint from the victim’s family.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-28T21:55:00.000-08:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea and David Boyle

A COUSIN of Prime Minister Hun Sen was found guilty in absentia of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison yesterday but remains free in Phnom Penh as a warrant for her arrest has still not been issued.
Dy Proem, 49, was found guilty of paying a US$200,000 bribe to the former deputy general director of the inspection department at the Ministry of National Assembly-Senate Relations and Inspection, Seng Yean, in connection with a Phnom Penh land dispute in 2008.
Presiding Judge Duch Kimsorn told the court that Dy Proem bribed Seng Yean to issue a fake Council of Ministers statement on March 18, 2008, falsely claiming she was the rightful owner of 5 hectares of disputed land in Dangkor District’s Kakab Commune.
“Based on proof and witnesses, the court has found that Seng Yean and Dy Proem are guilty,” he said, without explaining why no arrest warrant had been issued.
Seng Yean was handed a four-year sentence, also in absentia - though he, too, freely walks the streets of Phnom Penh - for accepting the bribe, and was ordered to pay US$40,000 in compensation to the Ministry of National Assembly-Senate Relations and Inspection.
During the trial, both defendants were granted bail and neither was summonsed for questioning, in apparent violation of the 1993 UNTAC criminal law.
Kao Ty, the lawyer of plaintiff Huoth Sarom, vowed to sue Judge Duch Kimsorn at the Supreme Council of Judges soon, alleging that arrest warrants had never been issued for either of the suspects because of political interference.
“I do not accept the court’s verdicts for Mr. Seng Yean and Dy Proem, because it was made with wrong court procedures. I also do not accept their sentences, because they are small - they do not fit their crimes,” he said.
Arrest warrants had not been issued for the pair, he alleged, because of their connections to Prime Minister Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
The prime minister has publicly distanced himself from the case in the past, saying in December 2010 that the law “does not think about relatives” and that if guilty, his cousin should be “strongly punished”.
Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodia Defenders Project, said the anti-corruption law technically allowed the court to not issue an arrest warrant for a guilty party, though this was set to change on December 10 when it is set to begin referencing the new penal law.
“If it is a felony, maybe she must be arrested, but there are two ways: [if she is] arrested under detention [a misdemeanor], there is no need to arrest,” he said, adding if an arrest warrant is not issued within five years, Dy Proem’s conviction would be annulled completely.
Panhavuth Long, a project officer at the Cambodia Justice Initiative, said the sentence was surprising given that Pursat provincial prosecutor Top Chan Sereyvuth was found guilty of corruption and imprisoned earlier this year.
“How come they found her guilty of corruption? You charge her and you found her guilty, and then you say that is not applicable because the corruption provision is not applicable, that is very strange,” he said.
Khieu Sophal and Chhiv Theng, the defence lawyers of Sean Yeng and Dy Proem respectively, both failed to attend court for the verdict but later denied their clients had committed any wrongdoing.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:12:00.002-08:00

A TEACHER of traditional healing in Banteay Meanchey province was yesterday charged with raping his niece over a two-month period while he was supposedly treating her for a nervous disorder, police said.
Serei Sophoan district police chief Rem Vireak said 57-year-old Chhim Phea was arrested on Sunday and then charged after his niece’s parents discovered their daughter was two-months pregnant and that her uncle was the father.
The 21-year-old girl had been suffering from a nervous disorder for several years before her parents decided to send her from their home in Svay Rieng province to her uncle’s home for treatment by him.
“Chhim Phea was a famous and respected Khmer traditional healing teacher in the village,” Rem Vireak told the Post yesterday. “He had raped her many times while she stayed for treatment at his house and he impregnated her.”
Sum Chankea, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said such a crime merited severe punishment.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:12:00.001-08:00

Two men and one woman were officially charged with illegally operating brothels yesterday by the Pailin provincial court.
Police said the suspects, 52-year-old Sim Kieth, 48-year-old In Mao and 38-year-old Choeun Thea, were arrested on Monday in Pailin town when police raided two guesthouse’s being used as brothels.
Deputy chief of Palin police Chea Chan Din said 13 female sex workers were taken from the Deum Chhart and Ponnleu Preah Chan guesthouses during the raid and sent to a provincial rehabilitation center.
“If the brothel owners are found guilty they will face a minimum of five years in prison,”said Chean Chan Din.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:11:00.002-08:00

A MAN who allegedly robbed a gold merchant was shot and killed by police after a brief stand-off in Kampong Cham province’s Chamkar Leu district. Chamkar Leu district police chief Ed Dara said the alleged thief, Morn March, was shot by police officers after he robbed a gold merchant and tried to allegedly attack police officers with a knife during an attempted arrest. “He was shot dead by police after he tried to use a large knife to attack our officers attempting to make an arrest,” said Ed Dara. Police confiscated the stolen gold and returned it to the merchant at the Chamkar Leu Market.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:11:00.001-08:00

A teenage boy was sentenced in absentia Tuesday to three years in prison by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court after being found guilty of raping a 5-year-old girl last year. The 15-year-old convict, who remains at large, was also fined US$1,000. Presiding judge for the court Chaing Sinath said the teenager was charged based on complaints filed by the victim’s mother, which state he raped her daughter on September 25, 2010, in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district. “The court orders his arrest, in order for him to serve his jail term,” the judge said. The attorney for the convicted teenager could not be reached for comment yesterday.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:10:00.000-08:00

Suspects in the high-profile corruption scandal that has rocked Senate president Chea Sim’s office were questioned in Phnom Penh Municipal Court for a second time yesterday over allegations they repeatedly engineered scams involving hundreds of millions of dollars.

Five of Chea Sim’s former staffers were arrested last month on allegations they had used their close connections with the high-ranking ruling party senator to defraud at least 51 companies from across the region on phony humanitarian and infrastructure projects.

Chea Sim’s former protocol chief, Pheng Kunthea Borey, and former advisors Chan Kosal and Pornlok Ho were questioned by presiding judge Chaing Sinath yesterday about documents that were seized from their properties, deputy prosecutor Meas Chanpiseth said.

“They were asked direct questions related to their accusations. They were also asked to testify about their companies and the documents or materials seized from their houses,” he said

Adorned in standard business clothes outside of court instead of the prison garb he has been forced to wear since his arrest, Chan Kosal said Chaing Sinath focused on his company Koy Sambath Cambodia, which he said had completed all projects it was commissioned to develop.

“I have devoted myself and works for Samdech Chea Sim’s humanitarian projects in order to make benefits for the whole Cambodian children. I had never received any cent of money from Samdech Chea Sim’s projects,” he said.

He claimed to not have received any recompense for a completed US$200,000 road connecting Svay Rieng town to Romeas Haek District in Svay Rieng province that he had paid for and constructed through his company.

On the website of a Malaysian company called Fasfik linked to the scam, Koy Sambath Cambodia is listed as the firm that had awarded them a contract to build a road and develop a township in Mondulkiri.

Chan Kosal’s lawyer Tep Mony Cheat denied his client’s firm had any association to Fasfik yesterday but conceded it did have above board dealings the Malaysian owned C4C fund.

Ponlork Ho alleged police had raided his house without informing his defence lawyer and claimed items seized did not belong to him.

“I absolutely deny this luggage belonged to me…there was no such luggage or documents in my house,” he said.

Suy Chhun Hak , the lawyer of the woman alleged to have been the ring leader of the scam - Pheng Kunthea Boery – professed her client’s innocence and said he would lodge a request for bail.

A former member of Chea Sim’s cabinet charged in connection with the scam, Khieu Bora, was not required at court yesterday because investigations into him had already been concluded, an anonymous court official said yesterday.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:09:00.000-08:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:08:00.000-08:00

A MOTODOP was found guilty of dealing crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, and sentenced to two years in prison at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday. Presiding judge Suos Sam Ath said yesterday 24-year-old Tak Neang had been caught in possession of 79.25 grams of ice outside the gates of the Institute of Technology of Cambodia in Toul Kork district’s Teuk La’ak III commune on March 7.

On March 9 he was charged with trafficking by police with trafficking, an offense he had been found guilty of.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:07:00.000-08:00

A BROTHEL owner was found guilty of harbouring sex workers and providing them food in return for performing sexual services with clients by Phnom Penh Municipal court yesterday.

Meach Buny was sentenced to six years in prison for illegally operating a brothel in Chamkarmon district’s Tonle Bassac commune last year, presiding judge Sous Sam Ath said yesterday.

The defendant had provided between five and eight sex workers with food in exchange for performing sex work and charged the women a 50 percent commission on their earnings, which came from both local and foreign clients, he added.

Meach Buny denied exchanging food for sex yesterday and has 30 days to appeal the sentence.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:03:00.002-08:00

A corruption trial against Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cousin Dy Proem, who is alleged to have paid a US$200,000 bribe to sway favour in a Phnom Penh land dispute, began yesterday.

Presiding Judge Duch Kimsorn said yesterday only new evidence would be examined in the court’s retrial of Dy Proem who allegedly bribed an official to issue a fake March 18 Council of Ministers statement awarding disputed land to him in Dangkor district’s Kakab Commune.

“This is the second time as the court has conducted the trial for Mr. Seng Yean and Dy Proem over the allegation of corruption,” he said.

The man who allegedly received the bribe, former deputy general director of the Inspection Department at the Ministry of National Assembly-Senate Relation and Inspection, has also been charged over the allegations.

The charges followed a complaint from widow and Phnom Penh landowner Houth Sarom, who claims that unlike 120 other families, she never sold her land to Dy Proem.

Long Narin, lawyer for Ministry of National Assembly, Senate Relation and Inspection, said there was documented proof the pair were guilty.

Neither of the accused pair could be reached for comment yesterday.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:03:00.001-08:00

A woman who allegedly strangled her boyfriend to death was officially charged with murder yesterday by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court after she was arrested on Saturday in the Toul Sangke commune of the capital’s Russei Keo district.

The suspect, 30-year-old Sam Sorphea, was arrested Saturday at her residence in Toul Sangke commune after police said she used a piece of nylon rope to strangle her 40-year-old boyfriend, Sok Mao, while he was sleeping.

Huy Hean, Chief of the Toul Sangke commune police, said that Sam Sorphea previously lived in Svay Rieng province where she was married to a friend of Sok Mao. However, he said the suspect admitted that Sok Mao and she agreed to run away together to Phnom Penh, where they would be married.

“She [Sam Sorphea] decided to kill her boyfriend when she became angry that he [Sok Mao] had broken a promise by refusing to marry her after she ran away from her husband to live with him in Phnom Penh,”

Som Sorphea, who is awaiting sentencing, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:02:00.000-08:00

A gold seller was shot dead and robbed of 12 million Riel (US$ 30,000) while driving with her teenage daughter yesterday in Choam Chao commune of Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district, said police
Choam Chao commune police chief Mam Hor said the victim, Chhuon Theara, also known as Mom, was shot three times in the chest and robbed by a group of five or six men brandishing a gun, while she driving a motorbike to the Olympic Market with her teenage daughter.
“She died while she was being sent for immediate medical attention at a private clinic in Dangkor district,” he said.
The police chief also confirmed that the teenage passenger was uninjured.
“The robbers successfully escaped after firing at the victims and taking the money,” he said.
Police have launched an investigation into the whereabouts of the suspects at large.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:01:00.000-08:00

A Thai woman and five Cambodian men were charged drug trafficking drug use by the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court after they were arrested in O’Chrou commune’s Poipet town on Saturday.
Thai national and 34-year-old dealer at a Poipet town casino Chan Lichiphorn was arrested along with five men: Bot Sreang, 37, Sok Hor, 24, Sou Tou, 19, Bot Mao, 32, and Ka Rina, 35, after police discovered 2 packages of amphetamines and drug paraphernalia during a raid upon their residence on Saturday in Poipet town.
Chief of Poipet commune penal police Prum Visith said the six suspects are being detained in Banteay Meanchey’s provincial prison where they await sentencing.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T02:00:00.000-08:00

A DEFENCE lawyer acting for the wife of tycoon Khaou Chuly yesterday slammed a high-profile Appeal Court decision to uphold her conviction for attempted murder as having “no transparency”.

Seng Chenda’s appeal against her 20-year jail sentence failed on Friday.

Along with three accomplices, the 46-year-old had been found guilty of plotting to murder Sun Sotha - Khaou Chuly’s daughter from a previous marriage – at Phnom Penh Municipal Court in February.

During her appeal, it was alleged that she was innocent.

Her maid Chan Sokha, who is also serving 18 years for attempted murder, claimed that she had overheard discussions between Khaou Chuly and his son about a murder plot – an accusation he strongly denied.

Deputy Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal Ngeth Sarath confirmed yesterday that all the guilty verdicts had been upheld.

“The Court of Appeal has upheld the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s convictions on Seng Chenda and her three associates. They were convicted from 18 to 20 years in jail each,” he said.

A lawyer acting on behalf of Sun Sotha yesterday said the decision was “justice for my client”, adding that he had strong evidence against the tycoon’s wife and her associates to take to a possible appeal at the Supreme Court.

But Lim Vann, a defence lawyer for Seng Chenda, still asserted her innocence stating: “I think that the decision has no transparency and has not provided justice for my client.”

Seng Chenda and Oknha Khaou Chuly could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T01:59:00.000-08:00

Armed robbers shot a woman yesterday and allegedly stole more than $US24,000 from the 48-year-old who ran a money exchange and gold shop in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district.
At about 10:15 Chhuon Theara was shot dead while driving a motorbike with her teenage daughter on it by five or six men that staged the robbery, Choam Chao commune police chief Mam Hor said yesterday. ‘
She was carrying a bag with 100 million riel ($US24,557) when someone opened fire.
“Three bullets were shot into her chests while she was driving a motorbike and carrying a big amount of exchanged Khmer money,” he said.
“She died while she was rushed for immediate rescue at a hospital in Phnom Penh”.
The victim was traveling on a routine trip from her home in Choam Chao Commune’s Prey Tea Village to exchange money at Olympic market, Mam Hor said.
“They were stopped and robbed while they were driving and arrived at a quiet place in the village. The robbers then successfully escaped from the place after they fired at the two victims and took the money,” he said.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T01:58:00.000-08:00

A former military officer of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) who worked in Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit was arrested on Saturday and charged with counts of rape, breach of trust and fraud by the Kandal Provincial Court.
Prosecutor of the court Ouk Kimseth said 57-year-old Chea Chan Sophal, also known as Chanputrithy, was charged based on the complaints of three women and one man, tying the suspect to rape as well as using his previous status as a military officer as leverage to illegally obtain possessions.
“He was already charged by the court after the completion of his questioning last week,” he said.
Kandal provincial police officer Sath Saroeun said the suspect would allegedly wear his old RCAF uniform to make it appear he was an active officer and in turn use this false pretense of authority to borrow individual’s belongings without returning them.
A 20-year-old woman in Kampong Thom is accusing Chea Chan Sophal of raping her in 2010. A 28-year-old shop owner in Kandal province claims the suspect borrowed several thousand US dollars worth of construction materials, but refused to pay. Another victim, a 20-year-old man, claims the suspect borrowed his motorbike at the beginning of this year and has yet to return it.
“He is now staying at the provincial court where he is awaiting his trial,” said Ouk Kimseth.

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T01:55:00.000-08:00

ONE of five of alleged accomplices with close ties to Senate President Chea Sim accused of being complicit in a scam was formally charged on Wednesday evening with fraud and producing fake public documents.
National Military Police chief Kheng Tito said yesterday Chea Sim’s protocol chief Kunthea Borey was charged based on information provided by the Senate president’s former Bodyguard Unit chief, Chhoeun Chanthan, who was arrested in August in connection with the same case.
“She was then sent by police to detention at Prey Sor Prison awaiting further investigations and trial in the future,” he said yesterday.
Police lieutenant general Chan Kosal, former cabinet member Khieu Bora, and lieutenant general Ponlork Ho, who were arrested on Friday and Sunday last week, had all been charged in connection with the scam based on information from Chhoeun Chanthan.
Kheng Tito declined to comment on the specific scam that the charges had been made in connection to but Ponlork Ho and Cha Kosal are both prominently featured on the blog of Malaysian businessman Armin Baniaz Pahamin in connection with an unspecified business deal.
Armin Baniaz Pahamin has not responded to inquiries from the Post.
Kouy Thunna, Kunthea Borey’s defense lawyer, denied the allegations against his client and vouched for her good character.
He added that Kunthea Borey was only the victim of the police’s arrests because she had not committed any wrong things against the laws.
“She is very sincere and honest. Based on her sincerity and honesty, I can assume that she is also a victim in this case,” he said.
Kunthea Borey’s fall from grace had taken her from a respected position in society to a prison cell with 40 other inmates, he added, and requested she be released on bail based on her proven good character.
Kouy Thunna also declined to provide specific details of the scam she was implicated in.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T01:54:00.000-08:00

A British national, who was previously arrested in 2005 on charges of child prostitution, stood trial yesterday at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court again on charges stemming from the purchase of child prostitution last year in Kandal province.
Presiding judge Oeung Seang, identified British national Michael Julian Leach, a 50-year-old tourist from London, as the individual being charged with the purchase of child prostitution.
The judge said Leach was arrested in September of 2010 at the Sneha One Guesthouse in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district on suspicion of sexually abusing three girls between the ages of 10 and 15. Five others are facing charges based on answers Leach gave to police during his questioning upon arrest.
Four Cambodians: 46-year-old Penh Phath, 42-year-old Nov Nhanh, 48-year-old Pheth Choeun, 46-year-old Sim Savoeun are being charged with being accomplices to child prostitution.
Sem Deth, 45-year-old female guesthouse owner, is being charged with providing a location for child prostitution.
Lawyer for the three victims Nuon Phanith, said Leach was previously arrested in 2005 while he worked as a doctor for a children’s organization in the Phnom Penh and allegedly had sex with underage girls. However, the charges were dropped after the court cited a lack of evidence.
“Today there is plenty of proof and evidence to prove he [Leach] has really committed his crimes. I hope that the court will find justice for the victims. I would like to ask the court to strongly punish him in accordance with law in Cambodia and expel him from the country after he has served his prison sentence,” Noun Phanith said.
He also recommended to the court that Leach be ordered to pay the three victims a total of US$ 15,000 in compensation.
Two of the Cambodians denied their charges as being accomplices yesterday.
“I confess that I used to drive him [Leach] to shop and eat at restaurants in Phnom Penh, but I did not know about his activities. I was not involved in the crimes. Therefore, I would like to ask the court to release me,” Hay Seila said.
Michael Julian Leach and his attorney could not be reached for comments yesterday.
Judge Oeung Seng said that the trial’s verdict would be made on September 8.

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

2011-11-27T01:53:00.001-08:00

Forty-nine pythons, weighing from 20 to 30 kilograms each, were released into Koh Kong’s Stung Proat river on Saturday after being confiscated from a businessman in Kandal province’s Koh Thom district, an officer from Wildlife Alliance said yesterday.
“We were asked by provincial police to take the snakes from them on Friday,” he told the Post.
He added that he was informed by police that the suspect was a police officer who worked at the Cambodian-Vietnamese border checkpoint in Koh Thom district. His SUV was also confiscated, but he was later released by police after his arrest and questioning.
Iv Chamroeun, chief of the Kandal Police, contradicted that version of events, saying that the suspect had not been released but, in fact, escaped. He added that the 404 kilograms of pythons were confiscated on Thursday at about 3:30 pm at a police checkpoint located in Koh Thom district’s Sampao Puon commune, while the suspect was trying to export them for sale in Vietnam.
“The suspect escaped after he was cracked down on by police. We now are searching for his arrest in order to bring him to the justice,” he said.

2011-06-08T22:15:00.001-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A 13-YEAR-OLD girl testified yesterday at the close of the trial of three women charged with recruiting underage child prostitutes in Phnom Penh.

Deputy prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Keu Bunnara, said yesterday that Keo Socheat, 56, Morm Pheang, 50, and Son Savin, 26, were arrested on May 31 last year, over allegations that they recruited at least one girl for child prostitution at a guesthouse in capital’s Tuol Kork district.

He added that police from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Office at the Ministry of Interior made the arrest, when a 13-year old girl was brought to the Tumnerb guesthouse in Phsar Depot III commune to allegedly have sex with a client for $1,200 per week.

The 13-year-old victim testified yesterday that on May 15 last year she left her home in the Anduong Meas commune of Takeo province’s Prey Kabas district to find work as a garment worker in Phnom Penh.

She stayed in Meanchey district’s Stung Meanchey commune with suspect Son Savin, who tried to help her find work as a waitress but she was too young to be employed.

The victim testified that on May 25 last year she met with Keo Socheat who promised to find her work as a garment worker.

“She told me that there was a work for me with a good salary and I was very happy to hear this. I hoped that I would able to make money to support my mother who lived in the province,” she said, adding that Keo Socheat took her to have her blood checked for sexually transmitted diseases and her virginity confirmed at a clinic.

“I was later sent by her to sleep with a man at the guesthouse for a salary of US$200 per week. However, I was very lucky because I was immediately rescued by the police while walking into the room.”

The victim has asked for $2,000 compensation from the suspects and Keu Bunnara has asked the court for a heavy sentence to prevent future incidents of child prostitution.

“Keo Socheat is a human trafficker in Cambodia and is also the mastermind of bringing this victim to have sex with a [client] at the guesthouse. Morm Pheang and Son Savin are the accomplices in this crime,” Keu Bunnara alleged.

Chin Da, a police officer at the municipal Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Office, said that police had spent a week investigating the three suspects before their arrest.

“According to our investigation and research, these people used to bring many young girls to have sex with the guests at hotels and guesthouses in Phnom Penh. They were selling the victims for sex from $1,200 to $1,500 per week and they could get a commission of between $150 and $200 per girl,” he said yesterday.

Keo Socheat confessed to procuring the victim for prostitution in court yesterday, but claimed that she did not know she was breaking the law.

“I accept that I brought the victim to sleep with a man at the guesthouse. The reason why I have decided to commit this is because she had asked me to do it. On the other hand, I could make some money to support my family,” she said.

“I did not know that my activity is against the law. So I would like to ask the court to reduce the sentence against me.”

Son Savin claimed in court yesterday that she was not involved with the crime and asked to have her charges dropped.

“I am innocent person,” she said.

Presiding Judge of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Ker Sakhorn, said yesterday that purchasing child prostitution or recruiting children as prostitutes is a serious crime and the court will issue a verdict for the three suspects on May 5.

2011-06-08T22:14:00.001-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

AN 18-year-old man has been charged with raping four girls in Banteay Meanchey’s Poipet town, police said.

Uth Sarith was arrested on Friday at his home in Prochea Them village following complaints from the parents of the girls, who were all aged 11 at the time of the alleged rapes.

Lieutenant Colonel Men Phearom, Deputy Commander of Poipet District Military Police, said yesterday that the suspected offences took place between 2008 and 2010.

The girls, he said, have alleged that they were all raped, on separate occasions, after watching television at Uth Sarith’s home and were given 2,000 riel afterwards.

“He was officially charged on Saturday with rape and sent to the provincial court in Banteay Meanchey for questioning,” said Men Phearom.

2011-06-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

THREE women charged with recruiting underage girls for child prostitution in Phnom Penh saw their trial end yesterday, with a verdict to be announced early next month.
Keu Bunnara, deputy prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said in court yesterday that Keo Socheat, 56, Morm Pheang, 50, and Son Savin, 26, were arrested on May 31 last year in Phnom Penh, over allegations that they recruited at least one girl for child prostitution at a guesthouse in Tuol Kork district.
He added that police from the municipal Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Office at the Ministry of Interior made the arrest, when a 13-year old girl was brought to the Tumnerb guesthouse in Phsar Depot III commune to allegedly have sex with a client at a price of $1,200 per week.
The 13-year-old victim testified yesterday that on May 15 last year she left her home in the Anduong Meas commune of Takeo province’s Prey Kabas district to find work as a garment worker in Phnom Penh.
She then stayed in Meanchey district’s Stung Meanchey commune with her aunt, suspect Son Savin, who tried to help her find work as a Karaoke parlour waitress in Phnom Penh among other places, but she was too young to be employed.
The victim testified that on May 25 last year she met with Keo Socheat who promised to find her work as a garment worker.
“She told me that there was a work for me with a good salary and I was very happy to hear this. I hoped that I would able to make money to support my mother who lived in the province,” she said, adding that the suspect then took her to have her blood checked for sexually transmitted diseases and her virginity confirmed at a clinic.
“I was later sent by her to sleep with a man at the guesthouse for a salary of US$200 per week. However, I was very lucky because I was immediately rescued by the police while walking into the room.”
The victim has asked for $2,000 compensation from the suspects and Keu Bunnara has asked the court for a heavy sentence to prevent future incidents of child prostitution.
“Keo Socheat is a human trafficker in Cambodia and is also the mastermind of bringing this victim to have sex with a [client] at the guesthouse. Morm Pheang and Son Savin are the accomplices in this crime,” Keu Bunnara said.
Chin Da, a police officer at the municipal Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Office at the Ministry of Interior, said that police had spent one week investigating the three suspects before they were arrested on May 31 last year.
“According to our investigation and research, these people used to bring many young girls to have sex with the guests at hotels and guesthouses in Phnom Penh. They are selling the victims for sex from $1,200 to $1,500 per week and they could get a commission of between $150 and $200 per girl,” he said yesterday.
Keo Socheat confessed to procuring the victim for prostitution in court yesterday, but claimed that she did not know she was breaking the law.
“I accept that I brought the victim to sleep with a man at the guesthouse. The reason why I have decided to commit this is because she had asked me to do it. On the other hand, I could make some money to support my family,” she said.
“I did not know that my activity is against the law. So I would like to ask the court to reduce the sentence against me.”
Son Savin claimed in court yesterday that she was not involved with the crime and asked to have her charges dropped.
“I am innocent person and I knew nothing about this crime,” she said.
Ker Sakhorn, Presiding Judge of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said yesterday that purchasing child prostitution or recruiting children as prostitutes is a serious crime and the court will issue a verdict for the three suspects on May 5.

RCAF official on drug charges

2011-06-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A MAJOR in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and his girlfriend were charged with drug trafficking offences in Preah Sihanouk province on Saturday, provincial officials said yesterday.

Provincial deputy police chief Chor Heng said that Major Eng Sopharoath, 26, and his 23-year-old girlfriend were arrested on Thursday in Mittapheap district’s Mittapheap commune in connection with drug trafficking activities.

“[Eng Sopharoath] was arrested while he was driving,” he said, adding that Eng Sopharoath had served with the Boundary Land Unit at General Command Headquarters in Phnom Penh.

“This RCAF major and his girlfriend carried drugs from Phnom Penh to sell in Preah Sihanouk province,” he alleged.

Chor Heng said that police had confiscated Eng Sopharoath’s car along with 0.6 grams of yama pills and other drug-related materials.

“They are now being detained at the provincial court for trial,” he said, adding that if found guilty the pair would face at least three years in prison.

2011-06-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

TWO men accused of exporting three kilogrammes of heroin to Australia via a Phnom Penh’s central post office saw their trial conclude yesterday, with a verdict due later this month.

Kor Vandy, presiding Judge of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said that 44-year-old karaoke shop owner Ma Sitha faced charges of exporting drugs internationally, and his personal driver, Mao Sothea, 46, was implicated as an alleged accomplice.

They were arrested on August 6 last year at Ma Sitha’s shop locating in the Spar Thmey II commune of Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district and were charged on August 9.

“They are drug traffickers. They sent a total of three kilograms of heroin from Cambodia through the post office to Sydney, Australia, in 2010. They were arrested based on the reports and cooperation of Australian police,” he alleged.

He added that that Ma Sitha had allegedly sent a large package of drugs, with his name and address written on it, via a post office in Phnom Penh to a client in Australia.

The drugs were found by post office staff in Sydney who notified police, he said, who then sent a report to police in Cambodia who arrested the two suspects.

Ek Chheng Huoth, deputy prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, alleged in court that the two men were also drug users and had committed additional drug trafficking activities in Cambodia before they were arrested.

“There is enough proof to charge that they both had been involved and committed the international export of drug from Cambodia to Australia as accused,” he said. “I would like to ask the court to strongly punish and jail them.”

Ma Sitha and Mao Sothea denied their charges during a hearing yesterday and said that they knew nothing about the package.

“I am not a drug trafficker. I did not know about the package sent from Cambodia to Australia and I have never been involved with drug trafficking as accused,” Ma Sitha said.

“I think that someone had put my name and personal address on the package in order to blame it on me. So I would like to ask the court to drop the charges against me and release me.”

Mao Sothea made similar claims yesterday: “I was only Ma Sitha’s driver. I did not know about the package. I have also never been involved with both drug abuses and drug trafficking. I am an innocent person and I would like to ask the court to release me.”

Kor Vandy said that their verdicts would be announced on June 30.

Korean Murder Arrested

2011-06-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A SOUTH Korean businessman was found dead in a condominium in Phnom Penh yesterday, after he stayed there with two female companions. He is thought to have been strangled with an electrical cord.

Vith Darith, chief of Boeng Kak I commune, said yesterday that Jeong Woo Chol, 43, died at an apartment in the De Castle condominium in Tuol Kork district at about 6:30am yesterday morning.

“He died at his friend’s room in the condo. His body now has been sent to be kept at the Embassy of South Korea in Phnom Penh awaiting his family to take it for a funeral,” he said.

Tuy Bunry, a Tuol Kork police officer, said that Jeong Woo Chol came to Cambodia as a businessman earlier this year and had been staying at the Royal Palace Hotel in district before spending one night in his friend’s condo.

Police said the victim visited two South Korean women who worked at a karaoke venue in Phnom Penh on Monday night, one of which was alleged to be his friend’s girlfriend. The three stayed overnight together at the room in the De Castle complex.

“According to his body examination and the police’s pre-investigation, he was killed by the tightening of electric wires on his neck. Because his neck was purple and wounded by the electric cord,” he said.

The two South Korean women were also detained yesterday for questioning in connection with the death, he said.

“Until now, we still do not know about his business activity in Cambodia and we now are still researching and investigating this case to arrest the killers.”

2011-06-08T22:07:00.002-07:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A 26-YEAR-OLD garment worker was sentenced to seven years in jail yesterday for rape of a colleague.

Chim Sothan, a worker at the Suntac factory in Dangkor district, Phnom Penh, was found guilty of raping an 18-year-old woman at Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

The worker had driven the woman to Boeung Snar, a popular lakeside tourist spot in Russei Keo district, where there are wooden huts for rent and food for sale on June 16. While renting a room at the destination, he raped the woman sparking a complaint.

Chim Sothan was also ordered to pay four million riels (about US$1,000) in compensation by presiding judge Suos Sam Ath yesterday. The victim did not attend court.

2011-06-08T22:07:00.001-07:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

THREE South Koreans were arrested yesterday after a businessman was found murdered in the De Castle housing complex in Phnom Penh’s Tuol Kork district on Tuesday.

District police officer, Tuy Bunry, said those arrested were a 42-year-old Korean man, Sin Mong Hour, and two woman called Kin Chhaing Re, 36, and Chol Julina, 31. All three worked at a karaoke venue in the capital.

Businessman Jeong Woo Chol, 43, was found strangled at the complex early on Tuesday. Police said on Tuesday that he is thought to have died at about 6.30am after visiting a karaoke venue and returning to his friend’s condo with two women.

“These Korean people are the friends of the South Korean businessman who was killed at the De Castle condos. They were arrested in connection with his murder, which happened in their room,” Tuy Bunry told The Post yesterday.

“They are now detained at the office of Tuok Kork District Police for questioning and further investigations before being sent to the court to face charges.”

He added that after during the arrests, police found a 1.15-metre-long length of nylon 1.15 meters and another 1.40 meters of wires hanging inside a bathroom.

The body of Jeong Woo Chol is being kept at the South Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh for awaiting his family in bringing him for funeral.

2011-06-08T22:06:00.000-07:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A CONSTRUCTION worker suffering with mental health problems was jailed yesterday for raping a girl, aged five, in a pagoda last year after giving her money for sweets.

Mom Ngor, aged 20, was found guilty of the offence at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday.

Presiding judge Suos Sam Ath told the court that the worker had approached the girl as she was sitting under a Bohdi tree in Prek Bra pagoda, in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district on March 25, 2010, at about 6pm.

“He gave 100 riels to the victim, who was sitting alone in the pagoda under the Bohdi tree, to buy the candies. Then he brought her into a dining room in the pagoda where she was raped,” he said.

“The court has found that he is a guilty man, but because he has mental health issues it is decided to sentence him a five years in jail only,” he added yesterday.

Ing Vanchhean, Mom Ngor’s lawyer, said that a doctor’s certificate stated that Mom Ngor had suffered from mental health problems since childhood.

“He cannot not speak well, and cannot count even the numbers from one to ten. I would like to ask the court to drop charges against him and release him so they he can go back to the hospital for his treatment,” he said during the hearing.

Mong Ngor had denied the charges during his trial, claiming he just bought sweets for the young girl.

__________________

A 20-year old mental man was sentenced yesterday to five years in jail over the rape of a 5-year old girl in Meanchey district, in Phnom Penh in 2010, according to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s judge.

Suos Sam Ath, Presiding Judge of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said that Mom Ngor, construction worker, was charged with raping of a girl aged less than 15 years in 2010 in Cambodia.

He added that he was arrested by police on 28th March 2010 at the Prek Bra pagoda in Prek Bra village, Prek Bra commune, Meanchey district, in Phnom Penh, based on the complaint of the victim’s family. He has successfully raped the victim at the Prek Bra Pagoda’s dinning room on 25th March 2010 at about 6 pm.

Mom Ngor declined to talk to the Phnom Penh Post yesterday. But during his hearing on May 11, 2011, he denied his charges.

“I recognized that I had really been given 100 riels to her to buy the candies but I did not rape or have sex with her,” he said.

2011-06-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

AN armed robber was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday after threatening a Phnom Penh motodop with a pistol last year.

Vin Ny, aged 36, was arrested on August 14 last year in Phnom Penh Thmey commune in Russei Keo district after he robbed the driver the day.

“He has used a pistol and pointed it at the victim while he was riding behind him, and successfully robbed him. He also used the illegal gun in his robbery activities,” said presiding judge Suos Sam Ath.

“So the court has decided to sentence him to five years in jail and to pay one million riels in compensation for the victim,” he added.

Vin Ny declined to comment on his verdict and sentence when asked by the Phnom Penh Post yesterday.

2011-06-07T03:53:00.001-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

TWO sisters yesterday cried in court yesterday as they denied kidnapping an 18-year-old high school student in Phnom Penh over a US$100 loan.

Former garment workers Kim Sophary, 28, and Kim Sarun, 18, appeared at Phnom Penh Municipal court yesterday on charges of illegal detainment and kidnapping.

Presiding judge Kor Vandy said they were arrested on January 23 in the capital’s Dangkor district following a complaint from Keo Heng – the father Bak Touk High School student Keo Kanlida, who has disappeared.

The judge said that Keo Heng claimed the sisters, who worked at Universal Garment Factory, kidnapped his daughter after she failed to pay back a $100 loan and then phoned him in a bid to claim the cash.

At court yesterday, both sisters denied the charges against them, denying that they knew Keo Kanlida.

Kim Sarun said: “I have not committed this crime. I never called to her father to ask money as the complaint states. I think that this charge is very unjust. I have not committed any wrong thing.”

She insisted that she had given a $100 loan to another garment worker called Kan Da last December and claimed a name mix-up had resulted in her arrest.

She said that on January 21, a man had called her to ask about the whereabouts of his daughter.

“I think that there was some confusion over the name. When I got his call, I thought that he was the father of Kan Da, so I answered that I knew her but she had just left my room.

“I told him that she had borrowed $100 from me and that, if he was her father, to please pay me the money she borrowed,” she said.

She added that after several calls and continued contact with the man she met him at Canadia park in Kakab commune, Dangkor district, where she was arrested by police.

Kim Sophary added: “We are innocent people. Therefore, I would like to ask the court to drop charges against us and release us so that we will able to continue our works to support our family,” she said.

Kor Vandy said that a verdict was due May 10.

2011-06-07T03:51:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

THREE people were killed instantly and another 30 were seriously injured when a bolt of lightning struck in Mondulkiri province’s O’Raing district yesterday.
Yim Dara, director of Dak Dam commune Health Center, said the victims worked for a Chinese pine tree company and were planting trees in Dak Dam commune when a storm hit.
“I think that this is the first time that so many people have been killed and injured by lightening during one day of heavy rain in the province,” he said.
The strike came during a two-hour downpour that began at about 3pm, he added.
“There was heavy rain and strong winds, along with a lot of lightening in our province,” he said.
Yim Dara said all of those who had sustained injuries during the strike had been rushed to the district health centre for treatment.
A total of 24 people were killed by lightening strikes in the first four months of this year, an increase of ten from the previous year, an official from the National Committee for Disaster Management said earlier this week.

2011-06-07T03:50:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A MOVIE producer, charged with defrauding a woman of US$15,000 last year to launch his business, was released yesterday after almost five months in detention on condition that he pays back the money plus $5,000 in compensation.

Mon Samnang, a 27-year-old a producer and actor at the Phnom Sorsai Sak Cinema Company, was arrested and charged with fraud last December. He was held in detention, until the complaint against him was dropped yesterday.

It had been alleged the producer had borrowed money from his friend, 25-year-old Buth Botum Srey Neang, and refused to pay her back, presiding judge at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court Chaing Sinath said in court yesterday.

Buth Botum Srey Neang also claimed in court last week that in addition to borrowing her money, Mon Samnang also tried to have sex with her, but she refused because he was married.

The judge added that Mon Samnang was arrested at his house in the Tuol Kork village of Tuol Sangke commune in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district, after the victim filed a complaint with police.

“Mon Samnang was accused and charged with defrauding Buth Botum Srey Neang out of money in 2010. He borrowed money from her to do his own cinema business but he did not return it to her as promised,” Chaing Sinath said.

“The plaintiff has withdrawn her complaint against him. The suspect has also agreed to return the money he borrowed and pay compensation to the plaintiff, so the court decided to drop the charges against him and release him,” she added.

2011-06-07T03:49:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

EIGHT men and three women have been arrested at the Thai border on suspicion of producing fake documentation for migrant workers, police said.
Chief of Poipet district police, Um Sophal, said that officials had charged 11 people with making counterfeit family books – which are collections of identifying documents - and borders passes in Poipet town, Banteay Meanchey province.
The suspects were arrested during a 7am raid on Friday at Poipet’s international checkpoint and charged Saturday.
“This is the first time we have cracked down and arrested people for producing fake family books and borders passes in Poipet,” said Um Sophal.
“Migrants come from other provinces to work on the Cambodian-Thai border. They have no legal documents to stay here and enter Thailand, so to get them they find counterfeit family books and border passes.”
The investigation is continuing.
“We have identified other people who are involved and the masterminds of illegal document production activities. We hope that they will be arrested soon,” he said

2011-06-07T03:48:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea and Kenneth Ingram

A YOUNG man whose arms were dismembered in a samurai sword attack two years ago rejected a surgical procedure yesterday that may have allowed him to regain partial use of his left limb.

Uy Bunnarith and his 60-year-old mother, Hem Chamroeun, travelled last week from Battambang province to meet with doctors of the Children’s Surgical Centre in Phnom Penh after being featured in The Post.

The 25-year-old’s arms were critically wounded in 2009 when teenager Reun Sothun attacked him with a sword while he was investigating a noise near his home. Reun Sothun was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the crime last month.

Chief executive officer of the Children’s Surgical Centre, Jim Gollogly, 67, said yesterday that the centre invited the family to discuss options for Uy Bannarith’s rehabilitation.

“I read the story and I said to some of my staff, get a hold of that guy,” he explained.

Gollogly, who has 14 years of experience at the NGO, said that artificial limbs do not work as well as many people seem to think, which is why the doctor recommended a surgical technique known as the Krukenberg procedure, developed by a German surgeon in WWI.

The procedure separates two bones in the forearm, the ulna and radius, allowing a patient to develop an improvised pincer from what was previously a stump.

Jim Gollogly said that Uy Bunnarith’s right arm was not eligible for the surgery because there was damage above the elbow, but added that his left arm was suitable.

“We generally perform half a dozen of these procedures each year at the centre,” said Gollogly. He added that the staff tries to have a former patient who underwent the same surgery available at the clinic to speak with candidates, but that this option was not possible last week.

Uy Bunnarith and his mother were asked to consider the treatment over the weekend and the surgery was booked for yesterday morning, at which time they decided to reject the proposal.

Sam Sitha, Smile Train Coordinator of the Children’s Surgical Centre, said their decision to opt out of the surgery came as a surprise to staff.

“We really pity him because he’s lost both arms and we wanted to help, free of charge, but he has refused it. We cannot force him to get it [treatment] because this is his right. At this time we will wait and look forward to helping him if he needs our help,” he added.

Uy Bunnarith, who was contacted by phone, said that the reason he chose to refuse treatment was because he was afraid of the operation, explaining that the surgical procedure would make his arms shorter in the future.

“I am grateful for the help offered by the Children’s Surgical Centre, for its kindness and generosity towards me, but I cannot follow through with the operation. I am afraid because my arms will become shorter and I’m afraid of how that could limit me after the operation,” he said.

“On the other hand, I am still very scared when I see doctors and think about operations. I remain fearful about the event that led to my arms being cut. I’m not optimistic that I’ll be able to write or work by myself even if I get the operation,” he added.

Hem Chamroeun added that he son was still very frightened about his arms being cut, following the attack and his subsequent treatment in the hospital.

“I have so much pity for my son. I really wanted him to get the operation so he can help himself, but I cannot force him if he dislikes it. I am still persuading him to get the operation and I hope that he will change his mind in the future,” she said.

Twelve charged with drug offences

2011-06-07T03:44:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
Twelve men were charged with drug trafficking and drug abuse offences on Sunday after being arrested during a raid on a house in Siem Reap town on Friday, police officials said yesterday.
Siem Reap provincial police chief Sorth Dina said yesterday that the men were purchasing and using drugs when they were arrested at around 10pm on Friday at a house in Angkor Thom commune’s Anhchranh village.
“They are drug abusers and drug traffickers,” he said, adding that police had confiscated two kilograms of marijuana, two packages of yama tablets, and other drug-related materials following the raid.
“They had been involved in and committed drug abuses and drug trafficking in Siem Reap.”
Sorth Dina said that over 80 people had been arrested and charged with drug abuse and drug trafficking in Siem Reap province since early April and over 200 people were currently under investigation for drug offences.
“We are still working hard to follow and investigate them,” he said.
“We hope that due to hard work and good cooperation from relevant authorities as well as people, we will able to arrest them soon.”

2011-06-07T03:42:00.002-07:00

More than 100 vendors representing 720 families at the Prek Pnov Market in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district protested in front of the Phnom Penh Municipal court yesterday against the proposed destruction of a demarcation wall at the market. The vendors also demanded the closure of the nearby privately owned Heng Peng Try market, because its vendors sell products on National Road 5, causing traffic jams and accidents near the market.

2011-06-07T03:42:00.001-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

THREE farmers were charged with the illegal destruction of protected forestl and occupying state land in Kratie province on Saturday.

Eav Saphom, governor of Ang Snuol district, said the men were arrested on Thursday after they were allegedly found clearing more than six hectares of protected state forest in Thnoal village, Svay Chreah commune.

He claimed they planned to sell the land to private businesses in the province.

The three suspects were identified as An Nhanh, 48, Prak Sopheap, 45, and Ang Sy, 19.

“They were officially charged with illegally cutting down state forest and occupying state land in the province. They have now been sent to the provincial prison to wait for their trial in the future,” Eav Saphom said.

He added that the occupation of state land in Kratie was a persistent problem, as many people try to build houses or start businesses in forested areas.

“To prevent people from committing illegal cutting or [occupying] state forests, our authority has been working hard in educating villagers about forest policies as well as other related forestry laws and documents.

‘”We have also asked them to cooperate in reporting to authorities when they see people cutting down the forests in their communities,” Eav Saphom said.

“We hope that with good cooperation from villagers and related authorities, we will be able to prevent the cutting down of state forests as well as illegal logging and wildlife killing in the province.”

2011-06-07T03:39:00.002-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Kampong Cham provincial court on Saturday charged 10 suspects with drug abuse and drug trafficking, after a raid on two residences by provincial police in Memot district on Thursday.

Brigadier General Nuon Samin, Kampong Cham provincial police chief, said yesterday that three out of the 10 suspects were women, and they were all arrested on Thursday in the Rong Chak Skor village of Tramoung commune.

He added that during the raid police confiscated a total of 13 packages of yama tablets from the two residences, weighing about 14.3 grams, in addition to other drug paraphernalia.

“This is another success that our police have cracked down on drug abuses and drug trafficking in Kampong Cham province. To combat these in the future, our police now are working hard in patrolling, following and investigating the drug traffickers’ activities in the province. We hope that due to our strong commitment and hard work, we will be able to reduce drug abuses and drug trafficking in the province,” Nuon Samin said.

He added that the 10 suspects were identified as Chin Hong, 47, his wife Thor Ratana, 22, Yith Vicheth, 19, Long Theng, 25, Say Srey Pich, 23, Heng Sina, 24, Tesh Bunthoeun, 43, Suon Sothay, 27, Som Sroh, 19, and Tesh Sochan, 18.

Nuon Samin also said that since the beginning of April, a total of 65 people were arrested and charged with drug abuse and drug trafficking in Kampong Cham.

2011-06-07T03:39:00.001-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court sentenced a 15-year-old student to three years in prison yesterday for the rape of a 14-year-old girl in the capital in January, court officials said yesterday.

Municipal Court Judge Ker Sakhorn said that Chhum Davoan was arrested by police on January 20 at his house in Tuol Kork district’s Teuk La’ak II commune and charged on January 23, after the girl’s parents filed a complaint alleging that he had raped their daughter was on January 17.

“The court has found that Chhum Davoan has really been involved and had sex with the victim as accused,” Ker Sakhorn said in his verdict yesterday. “It is decided to sentence him to three years in jail and 1 million riel (about US$245) in compensation for the victim.”

He added that Chhum Davoan had a right to appeal the verdict within a month of his conviction.

Chhum Davoan denied the charges yesterday and said that the verdict was unjust.

“I did not commit any wrongdoing against her and I did not forcibly rape her,” he said after the verdict was announced yesterday. “We were boyfriend and girlfriend and we loved each other. We both agreed to have sex with each other.”

Chhum Davoan’s father, Chhum Khun, said yesterday that his son and the girl were friends and had loved each other for years before his son was arrested and jailed.

“I think that his sentence is a little high for him because he was still young and he had not been raped the victim as accused,” he said. “I will appeal the verdict for him.”

The victim and her parents did not attend court yesterday and could not be reached for comment.

A Vietnamese woman was convicted with murder of her husband

2011-06-07T03:37:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A woman who allegedly stabbed her husband to death after he beat her, faced murder charges at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday.

Dam Thyheang, a 52-year-old Vietnamese national, told the court she acted in self-defense and feared for her life when her husband, 55-year-old Nguyen Yong, who routinely beat her, attacked her on the night of January 25 in Toul Kork district’s Tuol Sangke commune.

“The reason why I decided to use a knife to stab him was because he had beaten me, and tried to use a cutting board to hit on my head. I did it to protect myself. I think that if I did not stab him first, he will kill me,” she told the court, adding that Nguyen Yong was intoxicated and began destroying property in their home and attacked her because he was not happy with his dinner.

“I had no intention to kill him. Therefore, I would like to ask the court to drop charges against me and release men from now on,” she added.

Presiding Judge Ker Sakhorn said that Dam Thyheang was implicated in a serious crime and was charged by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 29th January 2011.

“She used a vegetable knife to stab the victim’s stomach and chest during a personal dispute with him and caused him serious injuries and he died after he was sent to the hospital. Her activity was cruel and a crime,” he said, adding that the victim was stabbed five times in the stomach and chest and died at Calmette hospital.

Ker Sakhorn said that a verdict would be announced on Monday.

ENDS.

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A woman who allegedly stabbed her husband to death after he beat her, faced murder charges at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday.

Dam Thyheang, a 52-year-old Vietnamese national, told the court she acted in self-defense and feared for her life when her husband, 55-year-old Nguyen Yong, who routinely beat her, attacked her on the night of January 25 in Toul Kork district’s Tuol Sangke commune.

“The reason why I decided to use a knife to stab him was because he had beaten me, and tried to use a cutting board to hit on my head. I did it to protect myself. I think that if I did not stab him first, he will kill me,” she told the court, adding that Nguyen Yong was intoxicated and began destroying property in their home and attacked her because he was not happy with his dinner.

“I had no intention to kill him. Therefore, I would like to ask the court to drop charges against me and release men from now on,” she added.

Presiding Judge Ker Sakhorn said that Dam Thyheang was implicated in a serious crime and was charged by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 29th January 2011.

“She used a vegetable knife to stab the victim’s stomach and chest during a personal dispute with him and caused him serious injuries and he died after he was sent to the hospital. Her activity was cruel and a crime,” he said, adding that the victim was stabbed five times in the stomach and chest and died at Calmette hospital.

Ker Sakhorn said that a verdict would be announced on Monday.

David John Fletcher was sentenced to 10 years in jail

2011-06-06T03:27:00.002-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A 56-YEAR-OLD British man was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 20 million riels (about US$5,000) in absentia yesterday, on charges of raping a 17-year-old girl in Phnom Penh in 2009.
Presiding Judge of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Ker Sakhorn, said that David John Fletcher, was guilty of a rape committed in Phnom Penh in 2009.
Although Fletcher escaped to Thailand in 2010 in order to avoid prosecution, he was arrested by Thai authorities on immigration charges on January 23 and is currently being detained in a Thai prison.
“The court also orders concerned authorities to take measures and action to bring this convicted person from Thailand to jail in Cambodia, where he committed the crime,” Ker Sakhorn added.
Peng Maneth, the victim’s lawyer, said he accepted the court’s verdict but asked the court to do everything in its power to bring the suspect to serve his jail term in Cambodia.
“I appreciate the court’s verdict for the convicted person. I think that his sentence and the compensation payment are appropriate for the crime he had committed it and for the victim. However, to ensure that he will really serve his jail terms as the court’s verdict, I would like to ask the court to rule and bring him to jail in Cambodia as soon as possible,” she said.
She added that a major problem with convicting foreigners of sex crimes in Cambodian courts is that they are extradited to other countries to serve jail terms before they pay compensation to their victims, or they escape prosecution altogether.
Peng Maneth also said asked that Fletcher serves out a full sentence.
David John Fletcher’s lawyer Ouk Syroeun, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Fletcher has the right to appeal within 30 days.

2011-06-06T03:27:00.001-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A HUSBAND and wife who recruited a child prostitute at Phnom Penh’s Sorya Shopping Mall were given 10-year jail terms yesterday.

Brothel owners Chab Thirith, 27, and wife, Ouk Kimren, 24, were found guilty of purchasing child prostitution after recruiting a 15-year-old girl as a sex worker last year. They were arrested in December at their home, near Sorya mall in Phsar Thmey I commune, Daun Penh district, after the girl’s family lodged a complain against them.

Presiding Judge of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Kor Vandy, said yesterday that “they had been run a brothel in their house for many years before they were arrested”.

“They lobbied the victim to work with them and forced her to have sex with guests in order to make money for their own interests,” he said, adding the couple must pay a total of 4 million riels (US$1,000) in compensation to the girl.

Speaking to The Post yesterday, the 15-year-old victim said that she had first met the couple at Sorya. Ouk Kimren had then offered her a job, together with a good salary.

Without informing her parents, she decided to take up the offer.

“They had asked me to work with them but they did not tell me that what kind of work it was. I was detained by them in the room and they forced me to have sex with many old men, including Cambodians and foreign people,” she said.

She added that she worked as a sex worker for four months before escaping the brothel.

“I got sick because of having much sex with old men. That meant I could escape when they were not at home. They were not paying much attention to me because of my sickness,” she said.

Although she said she was pleased by the verdict, she added: “I think that the compensation is very little for me if compared with [the loss of] my purity and honour.”

2011-06-06T03:26:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

TWO sisters accused of kidnapping a high-school student were released from prison yesterday after all charges against them were dropped, sparking a rights group to call for compensation for the three and a half months they spent in jail.

Kim Sarun, 18, and Kim Sophary, 28, cried at Phnom Penh Municipal Court as presiding judge Kor Vandy announced that they had been found innocent of kidnapping and detaining missing student Keo Kanlida.

The siblings were arrested on January 23 after Keo Kanlida’s father, Keo Heang, filed a complaint. In earlier testimony, the court heard that he alleged that the sisters told him over the phone his daughter was at their house and owed them money.

The women, however, said there had been a misunderstanding. They had been talking about a friend with a similar name, called Kan Da, who they had lent US$100 to.

Judge Kor Vandy yesterday agreed with then, saying: “It is considered that this is only a confusion of the victim’s name. Therefore, the court decided to drop charges against them and release them.”

The sisters, who both used to work at Universal Garment Factory, said that they were happy that justice had been done.

“We are both innocent people. We are very happy that the court has dropped charges against us and released us to meet our family,” said Kim Sophary.

Kim Sarun added: “I am very happy that I have been released from prison and I hope that I will able to work to support my family. However, I am still very disappointed with the police because I was innocent person and yet I jailed for nearly four months.”

Um Sam Ath, a senior investigator at rights group Licadho, said that had police mistakenly arrested the women without proper investigation.

“It is very regretful. I think that this was a police mistake because they are lacked of capacity [to investigate],” he said.

“According to the Cambodia’s laws, the government has to take its full responsibility in paying compensation for the waste of their time in which they could have been working and pursuing other interests,” he added.

But the director of the penal police department at the Ministry of Interior, Mak Chito, denied police lacked investigative capacity instead emphasising that authorities were able to fulfill their duties effectively.

“The police has the right to detain or arrest the suspects or offenders, but they can’t do this unless there are warrant arrests which are issued by the prosecutors or the court,” he added.

“If there is a mistake in an arrest, I think that it is not our police’s fault but is the prosecutor’s mistake because he or she is only the person who has the right to charge or not charge the suspects.”

Keo Heang was not present at the verdict could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Kidnapped sisters released

2011-06-06T03:24:00.000-07:00

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

TWO sisters accused of kidnapping a high-school student were released from prison yesterday after all charges against them were dropped, sparking a rights group to call for compensation for the three and a half months they spent in jail.

Kim Sarun, 18, and Kim Sophary, 28, cried at Phnom Penh Municipal Court as presiding judge Kor Vanthy announced that they had been found innocent of kidnapping and detaining missing student Keo Kanlida.

The siblings were arrested on January 23 after Keo Kanlida’s father, Keo Heang, filed a complaint. In earlier testimony, the court heard that he alleged that the sisters told him over the phone his daughter was at their house and owed them money.

The women, however, said there had been a misunderstanding. They had been talking about a friend with a similar name, called Kan Da, who they had lent US$100 to.

Judge Kor Vanthy yesterday agreed with then, saying: “It is considered that this is only a confusion of the victim’s name. Therefore, the court decided to drop charges against them and release them.”

The sisters, who both used to work at Universal Garment Factory, said that they were happy that justice had been done.

“We are both innocent people. We are very happy that the court has dropped charges against us and released us to meet our family,” said Kim Sophary.

Kim Sarun added: “I am very happy that I have been released from prison and I hope that I will able to work to support my family. However, I am still very disappointed with the police because I was innocent person and yet I jailed for nearly four months.”

Um Sam Ath, a senior investigator at rights group Lichado, said that had police mistakenly arrested the women without proper investigation.

“It is very regretful. I think that this was a police mistake because they are lacked of capacity [to investigate],” he said.

“According to the Cambodia’s laws, the government has to take its full responsibility in paying compensation for the waste of their time in which they could have been working and pursuing other interests,” he added.

But the director of the penal police department at the Ministry of Interior, Mak Chito, denied police lacked investigative capacity instead emphasising that authorities were able to fulfill their duties effectively.

“The police has the right to detain or arrest the suspects or offenders, but they can’t do this unless there are warrant arrests which are issued by the prosecutors or the court,” he added.

“If there is a mistake in an arrest, I think that it is not our police’s fault but is the prosecutor’s mistake because he or she is only the person who has the right to charge or not charge the suspects.”

Keo Heang was not present at the verdict could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Child Stealer convicted

2011-06-06T03:23:00.000-07:00

By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

A WOMAN who stole a child from her parents was handed a two-year jail term yesterday, with one year of the sentence suspended.

Chhoun Lin, 33, was found guilty of taking a three-year old girl from her mother, Mean Sarann, of Tuol Sangke commune, Russei Keo district, Phnom Penh, last year.

She was arrested in November in Banteay Meanchey province’s Malai district, where she had been living with the toddler for around two months.

At an earlier hearing, Mean Sarann said that she had allowed her daughter to stay with Chhoun Lin for one night in Septmber, but she was never returned.

During the sentencing at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday, judge You Bunna said: “The court had found that Chhoun Lin was a guilty of stealing a three-year-old girl from her family to live with her without permission from the victim’s parents.

“It is considered that the suspect’s activity is illegal and is against Cambodian laws, therefore the court decided to sentence her to two years in jail.”

He added that one year of the sentence would be suspended.

Chhoun Lin declined to comment about her sentence yesterday. However, during her trial last month she denied all charges and said that she never intended to traffick or sell the girl.

“I decided to bring her to go with me in Banteay Meanchey province because I loved her very much. I used also to take care of her when she was born and I loved her like my daughter.

“I did not inform her parent because I thought that if I told them, they would not agree,” she said at the time.