The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned at the apparent lack of action by the prosecutor in two recent serious criminal cases in Cambodia. It wishes to remind the prosecutor that the state is obliged to prosecute all cases where sufficient evidence exists of criminal wrongdoing, without regard to the payment of money by the accused to the victim, the status of the accused as state officers, or other factors. In fact, in such cases the state as a special obligation to ensure that prosecution follows.
In the most recent incident, on November 4 a 31-year-old man named Hourt Virak, the owner of a Shell gas station in Phnom Penh and his guard, 26-year-old Houn Sarak, allegedly shot two reporters from Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper. Sroy Nika, 27, was hit in his left foot and his colleague Phen Tharoth in his right thigh. The guard allegedly also seriously assaulted 19-year-old Teav Sarakmonith, who required five stitches in his head. The attacks reportedly occurred after the teenager urinated in the petrol station’s garden, and the two reporters intervened. Although the two accused were arrested, Hourt Virak’s brother negotiated to settle the case on his behalf and on November 6 agreed to pay the victims USD 5000.
In an earlier incident in Kompong Cham province, on October 28 a 45-year-old opposition party activist named Leang Ho was allegedly tortured by Preah Theat commune police officer Chor Hay and a military officer named Sambat, in Thmey Kandal village of Oraing Ov district. The AHRC has already released an appeal on this case, and has received information that the provincial police are investigating. In the meantime, the two concerned officers should be suspended from their positions pending the outcome of the inquiries.
According to article 56 of the 1993 Criminal Procedure Law, upon receiving a criminal complaint, the prosecutor must obtain a police report, make a preliminary investigation and follow it with the necessary actions in law. However, the AHRC is concerned that in both of these cases the prosecutor may fail in this duty: in the first due to the payment of money and in the second due to the positions of the accused.
According to the article 48 of the same law, police must refer all of their investigation reports to the competent prosecutor for a final decision. Police who fail to comply may be subject to punishment. However, in reality if the prosecutor fails to take effective action and show sufficient interest in the case, the police also will not act as necessary, particularly in the latter case where one of their own personnel is implicated.
The Asian Human Rights Commission is therefore drawing special attention to these two cases and calling for the necessary action to be taken by the public prosecutor to ensure that the accused are investigated and, if found to be liable to prosecution, taken before the courts of law. Neither payment nor position may be allowed to deter the course of law. Rather, these facts make careful and determined work by the prosecutor all the more imperative.
