CAMBODIA: Prime Minister Hun Sen’s nephew assaults a Member of Parliament

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s nephew, Hun To, ordered his bodyguards to attack a Member of Parliament named Nuon Vuthy on 19 July 2008 at the ferry pier of Prek Kdam in Ponhea Leu district, Kandal Province. It is reported that Hun To’s bodyguards repeatedly punched and kicked Nuon.

CASE DETAILS:

At about 2:20pm on 19 July 2008, Nuon Vuthy, a Member of Parliament for Kompong Cham province, from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, and Hun To, son of the governor of that province and nephew of Prime Minister Hun Sen, were driving their respective cars to the ferry pier at Prek Kdam in Ponhea Leu district, Kandal province. Hun To was traveling in a convoy of three cars. Because he was at the front of the queue, Nuon drove on to the boat first. A ferryman urged him to hurry when he spotted Hun To’s car, which was impatiently honking from behind.

Both men parked their cars next to each other on the ferry. When the boat reached the landing, Nuon started his car up to leave first. He was unable to do this, however, because Hun sped up his car, overtaking Nuon, and stopping well in front of Nuon’s car on the river bank. Meanwhile, one of Hun To’s escort cars followed stopping right in front of Nuon’s vehicle. Three bodyguards exited this escort car. Hun To also came out of his car and ordered them to attack Nuon, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of his large, four-wheel drive.

Two bodyguards quickly came up to Nuon, who showed them his ID card indicating he was a Member of Parliament. Disregarding this, they grabbed the card and started to attack him. One punched him from outside the car while the other climbed on the car to kick him on the shoulder, all through an open window on Nuon’s side. The bodyguard on the ground then pulled Nuon by the collar of his shirt in order to have a better reach. Nuon struggled to avoid the blows and the bodyguard continued to pull the shirt until it was torn to pieces.

Nuon’s assistant, who was traveling with him, went to inform Hun To that Nuon was a Member of Parliament and ask him to stop the attack by his bodyguards, only to receive kicks from the third bodyguard. Hun To then signaled to his bodyguards to resume their journey, and the cortege drove from the scene.

Hun To reportedly claimed that the two cars had narrowly missed having an accident when he was driving off the ferry, and blamed Nuon for it. However, it is more likely that he was angry with Nuon Vuthy for being first in line, when he was used to receiving the right of way wherever he went.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Thanks to his uncle, Hun Sen, and his father, Hun Neng, Hun To was granted the title of Oknha, the equivalent of a Lord in Britain. He is widely known for his harmful, annoying conduct, his arrogance, and his abuse of office. A number of other male relatives of Prime Minister Hun Sen have also demonstrated similar behavior.   However, due to their family connections, all have been able to avoid responsibility for their actions. In another case, a nephew of Hun Sen shot several people to death on a roadside. He was jailed, but then quietly freed on appeal a year later.

Whenever they travel, members of Cambodia’s ruling elite claim the right of way. Their bodyguards often attack any road users who block their path. Take, for example, the incident in January of 2008. Here, several bodyguards attacked a truck driver for being too slow to make way for their boss’s car. This occurred in heavy traffic on the outskirts of Phnom Penh after which time they resumed their journey without the slightest thought of being sued.

Many sons of powerful people engage in this kind of misconduct, with the same impunity.

At the time of the incident, Hun To’s car had no license plate, merely the logo of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party displayed prominently on the body of the car.

Fortunately, Nuon Vuthy incurred no lacerations to his body but did sustain generalized bruising. Cambodia is holding a general election in July, with the Cambodian People’s Party and Nuon’s opposition Sam Rainsy Party as the main contenders.

The police and the courts, like any other state institution in Cambodia, are under the control of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. They are not eager to investigate or to act promptly in cases where a member of the ruling elite or their families is defendants. Such people appear to be above the law.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write your letters to the authorities listed below and urge them to take action against Hun To and his bodyguards and bring them to justice for their assault on Nuon Vuthy.

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