CAMBODIA: Police allegedly torture a man in Koh Kong province

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the police in Kirisakor district allegedly beat a young man with a rifle on 7 February 2008. Police took him to the district police station after the arrest. Even though he lost consciousness due to the assault, he was not provided medical treatment and later at night, police allegedly assaulted him again.

CASE DETAILS: (based on the information from the victim and various sources)

On 7 February 2008 at around 4pm, three district police officers from Kirisakor district, Koh Kong province, arrested Taing Thavy, 21, a fisherman, at his house in Preah Sdech village, Koh Sdech commune, Kirisakor district. Following the arrest he was taken to the district police station. On the way, a short distance away from Taing’s house, in front of his fellow villagers, a police officer named Keo Sokea beat him with an assault rifle. Taing used his left arm to protect himself from the rifle’s first two blows which the fractured bones in his elbow and thump. Taing received a third blow on his head which he was unable to avoid, suffered a severe open wound and lost consciousness altogether. The open wound later needed four stitches.

The police put him, still unconscious, on a motorcycle to take him to the district police station. After he regained consciousness the same police officer, smelling strongly of alcohol, came to shackle his angles and then, without asking any questions, resumed beating Taing, kicking him in the back and the mouth until he lost consciousness once again. On this occasion he suffered a cut to his tongue and bleeding from his mouth.

Taing’s mother, Ly Kim Eng arrived at the police station and found him in shackles with blood all over his body. The police refused her permission to take her son to hospital for treatment. She then brought a doctor to treat him at the police station. Initially the police prevented the doctor access to Taing, but upon the loud and angry protests from Ly, they allowed him to stitch up the wound on Taing’s head but not to provide him any other treatment.

During the night Taing was suffering pain all over his body, especially in his left forearm, head and mouth. His wounds on the elbow and tongue were bleeding.

In the morning, Taing’s fellow fishermen who had witnessed the police beating in the village went to the police station demanding his release for medical treatment. Under this pressure and due to Taing’s deteriorating health after sustaining such heavy beatings, the police released him for medical treatment in his local town, but refused him permission to go to the country’s capital, Phnom Penh, some seven hours away by car, to seek expert examination and treatment of the severe pain in his head as requested by his mother.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

According to Taing, the alleged incident that had led to his arrest happened earlier, between midday and 1pm on 7 February when he with friends and some children were walking around and having fun at Poay Prav beach in Preah Sdech commune. There they met a group of men having a party. After a disagreement over photographing young women on the beach a scuffle broke out between the two groups, which sent Taing’s friends and the children accompanying him running for their lives.

Two men chased Taing. He managed to pick up a stick and used it to beat them off in self defence. In this melee a man tried to attack him with a pointed metal object. In Taing’s defence he hit and cut the ear of a man named Keo Sam Orn, 30. The scuffle then ended. A man in Keo Sam Orn’s group then made a phone call to the police to complain that Taing “attempted to kill” Keo with a knife. Later a doctor found the jury on Keo’s ear lobe was “not serious”.

Taing’ mother said that the police had arrested her son without any prior investigation after they received the complaint. She has filed a criminal lawsuit with the same district police against Keo Sokea, the police officer who tortured her son.

During Taing’s arrest, the police also impounded his fishing boat. His mother managed to have the boat returned but Taing’s personal belongings remain missing.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Apparently the police took the injury allegedly caused by Taing Thavy to Keo Sam On’s ear at the beach as a flagrant criminal offence, which allowed them to arrest him without a warrant.

Under Cambodian law a flagrant offence is one that is discovered (1) at the time of the commission of a crime; or (2) at the time just after completion of the commission of a crime; or (3) shortly after the crime has occurred, (3.1) a suspect is being chased by people shouting warnings, or (3.2) a person who is searched and is found to have an object, or a scar, mark or any other evidence from which it can be concluded that he/she committed or participated in the commission of an offense.

Based on the information Taing has given, the alleged offence that led the police to arrest him had happened a few hours before. That alleged offence lost its flagrant character. The police should have conducted an investigation first and seek an arrest warrant from court before they went to arrest Taing.

Under Cambodian law the police have to report flagrant cases to the prosecutor of the concerned province, but in this particular case the police officers who had arrested Taing Thavy did not report the case to the prosecutor of Koh Kong province. The latter did not even accept Ly King Eng’s criminal lawsuit against the police officer, urging her to do it at Kirisakor district police. This rejection is not legal according to the Cambodian criminal procedure.

The new Cambodian criminal procedure does provide for the right of detained persons to have access to medical treatment while in police custody. Only a prosecutor or judicial police officer may ask a doctor to examine them. Suspects are at the mercy of this prosecutor or custody officer for any medical treatment, which is a breach of the international human rights norms and standards Cambodia has adhered to.

Cambodia has ratified both the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and also the Optional Protocol to this convention. But there is as yet no national mechanism provided in this protocol for the prevention of torture where a torture victim can file a complaint.

The new criminal procedure code is silent on the punishment of public agents who have committed torture when it replaces the old criminal procedure which held such agents liable to a punishment of one to five years in prison. The new penal code which makes torture a crime is at the final stage of enactment.

SUGGESTED ACTION
Please write your letters to the authorities listed below to urge them to immediately conduct an investigation into Taing Thavy’s custodial torture and take appropriate action against the police officer named Keo sokea and any other police officers involved in this torture, and also to prohibit and criminalize torture and set up a national mechanism for the prevention of it.

The AHRC writes letters to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of human rights and OHCHR in Cambodia calling for interventions in this case.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER