Friday, 18 June 2010

The Phnom Penh Post News in Brief


via Khmer NZ News Media

Half marathon route set

Friday, 18 June 2010 15:00 H S Manjunath

THE National Olympic Comittee of Cambodia (NOCC) has finalised the route for its Phnom Penh Thmei Half Marathon, to be run on June 27. The start and finish points share a location near the Samrong Andeth pagoda in Phnom Penh Thmei commune, and the 4-kilometre route will wind its way around the area’s traffic-free zone featuring numerous garden paths. “The environment is very good for long distance running in that area which we hope to develop as a tourist site,” noted NOCC General Secretary Vath Chamroeun. “So far we have received nearly 100 entries from foreigners based here – mostly expats – and we expect about 250 to 300 local people including students to turn up for this race.” The sports official added that the event was a trial for a proposed full marathon in the capital next year.

Baseball kids hit field

Friday, 18 June 2010 15:00 Dan Riley

Three Cambodian little league baseball teams will face off in a friendly tournament this weekend at the Kampong Thom baseball field in Baray District near Kampong Thmor market. National Assembly member Nhem Tavy, who is the owner of the Kampong Thom pitch and has helped set up their local team, invited teams from Kampong Chhnang and Preah Vihear to participate in the three-day event which starts Saturday. Sides consisting of around twenty players each aged between 13 and 14 years old will play in morning games before receiving expert coaching in the afternoon from a visiting MLB coach from the US.

NOCC slam branding

Friday, 18 June 2010 15:00 HS Manjunath

The NOCC has warned a local bottled water company not to use the word Olympic as its brand name, contending that its commercial use without permission is against the spirit of the Olympic Movement and in contravention with the International Olympic Committee charter. The General Secretary of the NOCC, Vath Chamroeun, told the Post Wednesday that the commercial exploitation of the name of the Olympic movement violates IOC laws. “The NOCC is bringing this to the attention of the manufacturers,” he stated.

Microsoft launches office suite locally

Friday, 18 June 2010 15:00 Jeremy Mullins

AMERICAN software giant Microsoft Corporation launched its latest edition of its popular Office software suite in the Kingdom on Thursday. “More than 1 billion PCs worldwide have Office software installed, making it the most widely used productivity suite in the world,” Internet market research firm comScore Senior Vice President Mike Hurt said in a Microsoft press release. The last Office edition hit store shelves in 2007. Approximately 95 percent of software operated in the Kingdom is pirated, according to a 2007 report produced by the International Data Corporation and previously provided by Microsoft.

WING launches bill payments

Friday, 18 June 2010 15:00 Jeremy Mullins

WING, an ANZ Bank-owned mobile-payments service available on Hello, qb, Smart and MFone networks, said customers in Phnom Penh and Kandal provinces can now pay Electricite du Cambodge bills using their mobile phones, according to a WING press release. Costs are the same as sending standard WING transactions, it said. It “allows customers to pay electricity bills using mobile handsets, whenever they like, where ever they are”, WING Head of Operations Michael Joyce said in the release. The firm said it has 150,000 customers across Cambodia’s 24 provinces.

Drought may damage harvests, officials say

Friday, 18 June 2010 15:01 Vong Sokheng

THIS year’s longer-than-usual dry season could lead to falling rice yields across the country at the upcoming harvest, agriculture officials said Thursday.

Kith Seng, director of planning at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that although there are no precise statistics about the impact of the late rains, an estimated 100,000 hectares in Kampong Speu, Kampot, Takeo, Kandal, Preah Sihanouk, Prey Veng and Svay Rieng provinces could be at risk.

“Activities in agriculture production are slower than last year,” he said.

He added that 2,000 tonnes of rice seeds will be distributed to struggling farmers if the dry weather extends into July.

Keo Vy, chief of cabinet at the National Committee for Disaster Management, said he was also concerned and would “closely monitor the situation”.

“It is still a short period of drought. Therefore we will not make any conclusions about the effect it will have on the livelihoods of farmers,” he said.

Family Issues: Man denies raping his daughter

Friday, 18 June 2010 15:01 Chrann Chamroeun

Family Issues

A 44-year-old man pleaded not guilty in Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Thursday to raping his daughter, telling judges the 18-year-old was a “gangster” out to punish him for beating her. Chea Sothy was arrested in Sen Sok district last October after his daughter filed a complaint against him, accusing him of raping her multiple times over a three-year period beginning in 2001. Neang Hay, Chea Sothy’s defence lawyer, said Thursday that his client had never raped the girl. “He beat her for trying to have a relationship with a married man over the phone in 2009, so she ran to the police to complain that he raped her,” he said. But Peng Maneth, a lawyer for the girl provided by Action Pour Les Enfants, said Chea Sothy had wrongfully accused her of being a “gangster”, and that the only evidence presented was “his lies”. No verdict date has been set.

Border Case: Court closes Sam Rainsy investigation

Friday, 18 June 2010 15:02 Meas Sokchea

Border Case

Phnom Penh Municipal Court has finished its investigation into the criminal charges facing opposition leader Sam Rainsy, lawyers said Thursday. In March, the court charged the Sam Rainsy Party president with falsifying public documents and spreading disinformation after he released maps that he said were evidence of Vietnamese border encroachment. In a letter dated June 11, investigating judge Oeung Sieng informed Sam Rainsy, who is currently abroad, that investigations in the case had been completed. “We have decided to close down the investigations,” the letter stated. Sam Rainsy’s lawyer, Choung Choungy, said he met with Oeung Sieng on Tuesday, but that he did not know when his client’s trial would be held. Although investigations have been closed, he said, the judge can reopen them if requested to do so by the plaintiff or the defendant. Sam Rainsy, who has already been sentenced to two years in jail for uprooting border posts, faces an additional 18 years in prison if convicted on the new charges. Deputy prosecutor Sok Roeun, who is in charge of the case, could not be reached Thursday.

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