1,590 Gangsters Arrested for ‘education and Imprisonment’

Picture by DPA

Written by DAP NEWS -- Saturday, 26 September 2009

(CAAI News Media)

The Interior Ministry on Friday announced that so far this year authorities have arrested 1,590 gangsters across the country for morality education, with some sent to court for criminal behaviour.

Of those arrested, 454 gangsters, including 76 women, have been sent to the court for trial because they destroyed private and public property, or hurt innocents and competent authorities, or used drugs, Khieu Sopheak, Interior Ministry spokesman, told reporters at a press conference at the ministry.

“The rest we have educated in morality for them to be good youths in society and understand their responsibility to contribute to build a good society and good families. We require the guarantee from a family guardian before we release them,” he added.

“Some gangsters collect in groups to stay at guest houses, hotels, and entertainments clubs to use drugs. They finally become robbers and have created disorder, insecurity and crime,” he said. “In future, we will have a law for entertainment club management to combat these gangsters. So far we have cooperated with owners of the clubs to educate about the gangsters.”

“We have made efforts to prevent the youth from becoming gangsters through the media and education in schools but those youth chose to become gangsters themselves. Some subordinates in the groups are involved with disrupting neighboring people at night and committing crimes.”

Gangsters range from ten-year-olds to pensioners over 60, he stressed. “A large number of gangsters are located in wealthy areas like Kampo ng Cham, Battambang, Siem Reap and Preah Sihanouk provinces, and in Phnom Penh,” he added.

“We have been trying to take action regularly to crackdown on gangsters according to the guidelines from the Government. Gangsters come from different backgrounds, including wealthy, powerful families and the poor.”

Gangsters have spread to rural areas and have used swords to chop and kill each other in dancing ceremonies at local communities, he added. “We have arrested a lot of gangsters for education and imprisonment but we did not satisfy the people,” he said. “We need good youth for our society.”

“In total we have had 8,500 gangsters since 2006. From now on, the village chiefs, commune councilors have to provide the signs of the gangster in their communities to the competent police authorities in their areas to prevent them to be crimes, he said, adding that currently we have over 22,000 prisoners and inmates in 22 jails in total across the country, he said, adding that crimes have still increased in each year”

Cambodian gangsters lack a formal system of leadership, like crime syndicates in foreign countries, Keat Chantharith, spokesman for Cambodian National Police Commission, told reporters at the press conference. “They have just collected together as a group to drink alcohol and destroy private and public property, fighting each other for revenge in some cases.”

“In the near future we will have law enforcement experts and legal advisors from the US to help us to organize the law on those gangsters,” he said. “We have to join together to prevent gangsters.”