The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that over recent months, members of various Cambodian security forces have in separate incidents shot and injured young women in Phnom Penh, shot dead a villager in Kompong Cham, and wantonly driven a car into a smuggler there, killing him on the spot. The AHRC has also learned that no perpetrators of these crimes have been brought to justice.
In the early morning of April 27 a beer promotion girl named Kruy May was shot and injured by members of the B-70 Unit of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces at Ruk Kha II Beer Garden for being slow to bring ice for their drinks. Kruy May, who was injured in the foot, was taken to hospital. The military police arrested two army officers, Major Phat Skphal and Captain Sim Ry, but both were released two hours later. The two were reportedly demoted and had their heads shaved as punishment; however, no criminal charges have been filed against them.
On April 13 a karaoke singer, Sovann Thida, was shot in the hand at the X2 Club. According to the Municipal Police Commissioner Touch Naruth, an armed forces officer was spinning a handgun on his finger and it accidentally fired when a police officer with him attempted to stop him from playing with it. The victim was given USD 3500, but no criminal charges have been filed against the army officer or the police officer. Meanwhile, Sovann Thida was said to have been taken somewhere else after the incident. The owner and staff of the club, other karaoke singers and local police have all refused to cooperate with inquiries. There are rumours that the shooting was not an accident but that Sovann Thida might have turned down sexual advances and that she might have been shot in her genitals.
These shootings follow two earlier similar incidents in February. In one, an army colonel at a bar shot a young woman in her thigh and wrist. He was arrested but released later. He claimed that he had dropped his handgun, causing it to go off. The victim also has not been found since. In the other, a soldier shot his handgun into the ground and the bullet ricochetted before hitting a beer promotion girl. Again, no criminal charges have been filed in either case.
Arbitrary violence and impunity are a part of life in the provinces also. Take Kampong Cham. On April 14 a member of a militia unit at Chamcar Andaung Rubber Plantation shot a villager dead as he rode past on the back of a motorcycle. The victim, Chlich Sinol, was carrying five kilogrammes of rubber which he wanted to sell to another merchant at almost four times the price offered by the plantation, which has a monopoly on purchases of all rubber produced in the area. Apparently one of the tasks of the militia is to prevent the sale of rubber to other merchants. Between 200 and 300 fellow villagers retaliated by burning down the militia post, together with the houses of the monopolising merchant and furniture in the houses of the militia personnel. The police have confiscated weapons and ammunitions from the militia and have prepared a file to send to the court of the province, but the murderer is still at large.
Earlier in the same province, on March 15 a car transporting four customs officers hit a motorcycle being used to smuggle five jerry cans of diesel. The motorcyclist, Phy Phong, was killed after being pulled some 60 metres underneath the vehicle. The chief of the customs post acknowledged the killing and offered Phy Phong’s father USD 1000 in exchange for dropping legal proceedings. This offer was turned down, but when the amount was increased to USD 3000 he accepted and withdrew the complaint.
The payment of compensation to prevent legal proceedings in cases of gross state brutality is a common feature of Cambodia today, especially in cases involving the armed forces. Most instances also involve duress to accept the money. As victims or their relatives have no confidence in the criminal justice system, it is uncommon for anyone to go to court.
Such practices will only end through concerted efforts to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice. Much more must be done to oblige the public prosecutors in every court of Cambodia, together with the police, to initiate legal proceedings in cases of abuse of power and violence against ordinary people, regardless of whether there have been pecuniary settlements to avoid legal proceedings or not. The prosecution and police should not wait until they have received complaints from victims or concerned people before initiating proceedings. Members of the human rights community should provide support and encouragement for legal proceedings against the attackers.
The AHRC also urges the Cambodian government to end impunity by tightening discipline among its armed officials and other people of authority, and by lending full cooperation and support to the police and prosecution in legal proceedings to bring perpetrators to justice. The Cambodian government should encourage victims and concerned members of the public to file complaints with the prosecution and the police whenever there is abuse of authority. It should also take adequate measures to protect complainants and witnesses from retaliation.
Finally, the AHRC urges donor countries, the United Nations and other international agencies operating in Cambodia to engage more vigorously with the government and all parts of the criminal justice system in the country to end impunity and the accompanying endemic fear gripping its people, in order to at last establish for them some semblance of the rule of law.
