Lake development blamed for fatality

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:03 Khouth Sophakchakrya

RELATIVES of a man who was electrocuted while standing in floodwater are blaming the death on flooding caused by the massive Boeung Kak lake real estate development.

Biv Thuong, 61, died while he was repairing a neighbour’s home in Srah Chak commune’s Village 3.

The village, which sits on the southern end of Boeung Kak lake, has been inundated with floodwater this year – an occurrence that many in the village have blamed on the controversial land development, which has seen the lake gradually filled with sand since 2008.

Chau Kheang said he and Biv Thuong had been hired to change mouldy wooden support beams under a neighbour’s house on Tuesday. The task required the two men to wade through knee-high floodwater on the ground level of the house.

When Biv Thuong tried to remove a lamp, the circuits started sparking, sending an electric shock through both men’s bodies, Chau Kheang said.

“I rushed out from the ground floor of the wooden house after me and my partner were shocked,” he said. “I am very sorry. I could not save him.”

The village’s 339 families had designated Biv Thuong to lobby on behalf of the village on flood-related issues.

The man’s wife, Uk Savin, yesterday blamed her husband’s death on the real estate project that she believes caused the flooding. “If they did not fill land in the lake ... my village would not flood and my husband would not have been electrocuted,” Uk Savin said.

Municipal officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.

However, Chhay Thirith, the chief of Srah Chak commune, blamed the death on Biv Thuong.

“He has an overbearing attitude and was careless,” Chhay Thirith said. “He handled an uncovered electricity line when his legs were standing in water.”

The house’s owner, Taing Phuong, said she turned the power off before the men started working.

SRP censures strike bust-up

Photo by: Pha Lina
Police charge protesting employees at a factory in Sen Sok district owned by PCCS Garments Limited. About 50 officers dressed in riot gear and toting electric batons and tear-gas guns scuffled with the workers, mostly women, who retaliated by throwing chairs and fruit.

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:03 Meas Sokchea and Kim Yuthana

THE opposition Sam Rainsy Party yesterday condemned an armed crackdown on striking garment factory workers this week, saying that peaceful means should be used to resolve their dispute with factory management.

On Tuesday, around 50 riot police descended on a factory owned by PCCS Garments Limited in Sen Sok district and tried to force an estimated 3,000 employees back to work. In the process, several workers were pushed to the ground and stunned with electric batons, and some demonstrators retaliated by throwing water bottles and plastic chairs at police.

“The use of violence on workers like this is a serious violation of individuals’ rights and the freedom of expression of the workers, which is guaranteed by the Cambodian Constitution and the Law on Peaceful Demonstrations,” the SRP said in a statement.

The strike followed six days of protests at the factory that were triggered by the dismissal of union representative Morn Channa last week.

“Once again SRP condemns the use of violence against workers of PCCS Garment Factory and would like to call for the authorities and garment factory owners to resolve the problems and allow Morn Channa ... to be re-employed,” the statement said.

PCCS workers continued their strike yesterday, and garment worker Phan Sreypov pledged that they would continue their strike until Morn Channa was reinstated.

“We still must keep our stance and demand the same until the factory owner has a resolution for Morn Channa,” she said.

But You Meng Try, a PCCS representative, said Wednesday that if the workers do not return to work by today, their salaries will be docked and they could face dismissal themselves.

“The stance of the factory is the same, not to allow their representatives back for employment,” he said.

Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, of which Morn Channa is a member, said that more than 10 workers were injured by the police actions on Tuesday.

He also said that if the factory continued to deny workers’ demands, it would lose profits as well as the confidence of overseas clients.

“So the factory should find a way to have negotiations with workers so both sides can profit,” he said.

Phnom Penh Municipal police chief Touch Naruth dismissed the SRP’s concerns, saying the party was not considering the issue of “public order”.

Striking workers “threw stones at police”, the strike had blocked the main avenue to Phnom Penh International Airport, he said.

“We must have legal action; Russian Federation Boulevard cannot be allowed to have disorder. If Russian Federation Boulevard is blocked by disorder, it is very bad for us,” he said.

He also denied that any workers had been injured.

Man gets prison for posing as late prince

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:03 Mom Kunthear

A 66-YEAR-OLD man was sentenced to three years in jail at Kampot provincial court on Wednesday for extorting money and gifts from local residents on the pretence that he was the late Prince Norodom Naradipo.

Kampot provincial deputy prosecutor Seang Sok said that although the province had seen similar cases of fraud in the past, appropriating the identity of a member of the royal family was particularly egregious. Prince Naradipo, a son of King Father Norodom Sihanouk and half-brother of King Norodom Sihamoni, was born in 1946 and died under the Khmer Rouge regime.

“This man impersonated the King’s relative in order to cheat the villagers and convince them to give him money,” Seang Sok said. “This could affect the King’s reputation, so the court charged the man with fraud.”

Tep Vanna, head of the Kampot provincial military police, said police had apprehended the suspect, Prum Sokkak, after receiving complaints about him from local residents. Prum Sokkak, who had apparently been running similar schemes throughout the country, was thwarted when his wife arrived and identified him, he added.

Prince Sisowath Thomico, assistant to the King Father, said in an email that Prum Sokkak was “not the first” fraudster to impersonate the late Prince Naradipo.

“The identity problems in Cambodia is in fact a direct and lasting consequence of the Khmer Rouge regime,” Prince Thomico said. “Thousands of people have since changed their names or have taken other persons’ identities. To my knowledge, there is no law to deal with this problem.”

Brick attack investigation proceeding

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:03 Cameron Wells and May Titthara

A CANADIAN man said yesterday that local police were investigating an attack in which he was hit in the head by a brick while walking near the riverside, and the municipal police chief said no complaints had been filed in connection with similar cases.

Patrick Falby, a former Post reporter, said last week that he was hit in the jaw with a brick while walking along the riverside last month. He reported to police that the brick was thrown from a Toyota SUV.

He said yesterday that police had been in contact with him since news reports about the attacks appeared in the media late last week.

“They told me they were still following the case,” he said. “Then I got a call last week, and they asked if I had been attacked by a brick again.”

He said his landlord informed him that police had visited his residence while he was absent, and had asked the landlord “if I was OK”.

Phnom Penh police chief Touch Naruth said he was aware that the case was being investigated, and speculated that Falby might have provoked the attack.

“Maybe the foreigner made an argument with other people, so then they threw a brick at the foreigner,” he said.

He added that police were unable to launch investigations into the other cases because no complaints had been filed. But he said police had ramped up their riverside presence in an attempt to ward off similar future attacks.

“We have not investigated because we do not have the victim’s complaint,” Touch Naruth said. “But we have deployed police along that road to prevent any more cases.”

Mom Sitha, director of the foreigners bureau of the Phnom Penh municipal police department, said police had still not identified potential suspects in any of the attacks.

“We have not identified who is a suspect yet,” he said. “If we knew, we would arrest them.”

He said the police presence had been increased along the riverfront in order to make the area “safer for tourists”.

Angkor Thom bus ban delayed

Photo by: Rann Reuy
A bus leaves Angkor Thom. The Apsara Authority has postponed implementation of a ban on buses with more than 12 seats in the site.

via khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:03 Rann Reuy

Siem Reap province

THE Apsara Authority has decided to postpone implementation of a ban on buses containing more than 12 seats within Angkor Thom, and an official said yesterday that the body hoped to discuss the issue at length with the Tourist Transport Association.

Earlier this month, Chrun Sophal, the body’s communications director, said the ban would go into effect on August 1. He said yesterday that the deadline had been delayed, though he could not provide a new date.

“We will implement it in the future,” he said.

The Tourism Department at the Apsara Authority found that 15,000 vehicles entered the Angkor Wat temple complex each day in 2008, the last year for which statistics are available. Of those, about 900 were minibuses containing between 12 and 35 seats.

An official at the department who declined to be named said an estimated 90 percent of those vehicles entered Angkor Thom.

Chrun Sophal said the ban on buses with more than 12 seats was necessary so as to ensure the safety of the temples.

“We are concerned that those buses make the temples shake,” he said. “We want good order in the temples.”

Kanh Peou, the director of the TTA, said he had not heard of the pending ban, but that he believed the Apsara Authority should allow buses with up to 15 seats to enter Angkor Thom.

Juvenile Justice: Children’s court pilot planned

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:03 Khoun Leakhana

Juvenile Justice

The Ministry of Justice plans to spearhead a children’s court pilot programme – an early step in a bid to introduce a juvenile justice system in Cambodia.

Ith Rady, secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice, said officials and legal experts were discussing ways to help children who break the law.

It is hoped that a pilot project, which does not yet have a firm start date, will be a key part of creating a justice system that deals exclusively with people under the age of 18.

“We are going to train judges who will be in charge of child cases, so that they will understand the legal procedures for convicting children and how to use the law in this court system as well,” Ith Rady said during a workshop on the issue yesterday.

Cambodia currently lacks a separate juvenile justice law. Among the few provisions for children in the current penal code is a provision stipulating that sentences for minors should be halved.

Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana said: “I believe that the child court will be useful for children in enhancing their rights and preventing discrimination or immoral acts in society.”

Former KR cadres react to verdict

Photo by: ECCC
Former S-21 prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, remarks last year about testimony by his former subordinate Him Huy (right, foreground), who was a Khmer Rouge prison guard.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Why do they want him to spend his whole life in prison? There is no need for this kind of vengeance.

-------------------------------------------------------------

via khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:02 Thet Sambath

FORMER Khmer Rouge cadres in the regime’s onetime stronghold of Northwestern Cambodia said yesterday that they were uninterested in Monday’s verdict against Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav at the Kingdom’s war crimes tribunal, and untroubled by the prospect of further prosecutions.

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Brigade 8 commander Yim Phim, a former Khmer Rouge military commander whose RCAF troops are now stationed at Preah Vihear temple, said he was aware of Monday’s proceedings but had not followed them closely.

“I am not interested in this verdict, and neither are my soldiers,” Yim Phim said. “I don’t see it as necessary.”

Although the court had begun preliminary investigations in its third and fourth cases, and prosecutors had submitted a list of five unnamed potential suspects in September, Yim Phim said he and other former cadres were unconcerned.

“If Samdech Hun Sen is in power, I believe it will be no problem and there will be no more arrests,” Yim Phim said. The prime minister has publicly expressed his opposition to prosecutions beyond the court’s second case.

In the most widely discussed aspect of Monday’s ruling, judges sentenced Kaing Guek Eav – alias Duch – to 30 years in prison. This penalty was reduced from 35 years because of Duch’s illegal detention from 1999 to 2007, and with credit for time already served, he will spend just 19 more years in prison.

Many victims expressed anger at this relatively light sentence, though Kong Doung, a former Khmer Rouge radio officer who is now director of Pailin province’s information department, said he was puzzled by this sentiment.

“Why do they want him to spend his whole life in prison? There is no need for this kind of vengeance,” Kong Doung said. Most people near the border, he said, were more concerned with the ongoing standoff with Thailand than with the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

“We are worried about Preah Vihear temple – we want to know whether the Thai troops will withdraw or not,” Kong Doung said.

Keut Sothea, a former Khmer Rouge military officer and now a member of the Pailin provincial council, said he had not tuned in for the announcement of Monday’s verdict.

More basic concerns, he said, occupied the minds of his constituents.

“People are too busy working and farming to feed their families and children,” he said.

Khan Nang, a former Khmer Rouge soldier now living in Banteay Meanchey province’s Malai disrict, said he did not take the tribunal seriously because it was not investigating all of those responsible for committing atrocities under Democratic Kampuchea.

“I do not see it as justice because the trials are just for a few leaders,” Khan Nang said. “They should try all the cadres who were involved in these crimes, even those who are leaders in the government today.”

Duch’s detention

One question on the minds of some observers in the aftermath of Monday’s verdict was whether Duch, already the beneficiary of a reduced sentenced, could see his prison term further reduced by earning parole.

Upon the conclusion of their cases, the Cambodian government assumes responsibility for suspects convicted at the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

Suspects convicted in the Cambodian criminal system are eligible for parole after having served two thirds of their sentences.

The 2004 Law on the Establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia states that the government “shall not request an amnesty or pardon” for anyone convicted at the tribunal, and ECCC deputy prosecutor William Smith said Tuesday that this provision thus excluded the possibility of parole.

Asked about the legal status of Duch’s detention, Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said it was “a good question” and referred questions to ECCC officials. Phnom Penh Municipal Court president Chiv Keng said such detention procedure was “under the ECCC’s duty”.

UN court spokesman Lars Olsen said Tuesday that there were “established procedures in Cambodian law for applying for parole, and it is not within the ECCC’s mandate to enforce those rules”.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MAY TITTHARA

Ethnic Jarai villagers plan protest against inaction in land row

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:02 Chhay Channyda

ETHNIC Jarai villagers in Ratanakkiri province will hold a press conference today in order to push provincial court officials to rule on a long-standing land dispute involving businesswoman Keat Kolney, a sister of Finance Minister Keat Chhon.

Sev Twel, 25, a representative of Kong Yu village in O’Yadav district, said yesterday that more than 250 demonstrators planned to gather outside the court and request that it solve the dispute, revolving around 450 hectares of land in O’Yadav.

The Kong Yu villagers have been embroiled in the dispute since August 2004, when Keat Kolney claimed to have purchased 450 hectares of land from the village.

But Kong Yu residents say they agreed to the sale only after commune authorities told them the land was needed for disabled army veterans.

Villagers later signed documents approving the sale, but they say they only agreed to give away 50 hectares of land.

Much of the land has since been cultivated with rubber trees.

Kong Yu villagers filed complaints to the provincial court in 2007, requesting the termination of the sale and a halt to the clearing of the land, but Sev Twel said the court had not taken any action to address their case.

Yong Sarath, a defence lawyer for the villagers provided by the Community Legal Education Centre, said the court had summoned his clients once after receiving the complaint in 2007, but that the case had not been heard since.

“The case has been protracted for a long time. According to the law, the court must handle the case speedily and justly,” he said yesterday.

In May 2010, Yong Sarath said, CLEC lawyers sent a letter to the provincial court requesting that it assign a new judge to the case in order to speed up the investigations.

At the time, CLEC lawyers said the court had promised to make a change, but Yong Sarath said the court had delayed making the appointment and said that it was too busy working on other cases.

Previous trial judge Thor Saron said in May that he had removed himself from the case, but that he did not know which judge would replace him.

Provincial court director Lu Susambath could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

CITA head to file report on exam bribery

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:02 Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Mom Kunthear

THE head of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association plans to file a report to the Education Ministry on the issue of “corruption during Grade 12 national exams” in physics and mathematics.

Rong Chhun, the president of CITA, said yesterday that the group had received reports from invigilators in Phnom Penh, Kampong Cham, Svay Rieng and Preah Sihanouk provinces that the mathematics exam was leaked on the night before yesterday’s test, and was being sold nationwide yesterday morning.

He added that supervisers and inspectors were still accepting bribes from candidates, some of whom were paying as much as 30,000 riels (US$7) to avoid punishment for cheating and copying.

“According to the education law, the results of these exams should be nullified and students must re-sit the exam if any test has been made public,” he said.

He said that the CITA report would be submitted sometime this weekend.

On Tuesday, Rong Chhun accused the chief inspector at the Hun Sen Saang exam centre in Kandal province of ordering all exam supervisors to take money from students sitting for exams this week.

Uo Eng, deputy director general of the Education Ministry’s General Department of Education, said yesterday he had not received any new complaints.

“Rong Chhun has always accused the Education Ministry of bad things, but it is his right,” he said. “I don’t care, because we are working hard already.”

A student at Intradevy High School in Tuol Kork district, who declined to be named, said she had spent almost $30 buying exam results from monitors, but said that teachers had ordered students to do so.

“For the last day of exams, I spent 30,000 riels per subject,” she said. “All good and bad students gave money to inspectors and monitors, so I had to as well.”

Students finished the final day of examinations yesterday, completing tests in mathematics and earth sciences.

Flooded-out families ask for help

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Biev Uksar, 30, prays at a funeral service for his father, Biv Thuong, 61, the chief of the Group 34 community at the Boeung Kak lakeside, who was electrocuted in floodwaters.

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:02 Khouth Sophakchakrya

FAMILIES in Srah Chak commune’s Village 3 say their lives have not been the same ever since a developer began filling in Boeung Kak lake to make way for a controversial real estate project.

The families aren’t among the roughly 4,000 expected to lose their homes if or when the development – the largest real estate project in the city – is completed.

But villagers say they now have to deal with intolerable flooding because of the project. Their homes, built on stilts over the sandy, southern edge of Boeung Kak lake, never used to flood even during the rainy season. Now it takes only one heavy rainstorm for some homes in the village to be flooded with murky runoff.

Villagers say they have been in an ongoing battle with City Hall to find a solution to the problem.

“We had asked the authorities, including City Hall, to make drainage to release the water from our village, but they told us they will make an effort to do it soon,” said Rath Him. “Maybe they will do it after we all die or relocate from our homes.”

On Tuesday, Rath Him’s neighbour, Biv Thuong, was electrocuted while attempting to make repairs on a home while standing in knee-high floodwater.

Earlier this month, at least 20 families left their homes and sought refuge in rental housing, fleeing floodwater that had made their lives difficult, the families said at the time. At least 15 have still not returned to their homes.

But local officials have repeatedly said the onus is on the developer – Shukaku Inc, a company headed by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Lao Meng Khin – to solve the problem. Sok Penh Vuth, deputy governor of Daun Penh district, and Kep Chuktema, the governor of Phnom Penh, both said they were too busy to comment on the issue yesterday.

Representatives from Shukaku could not be reached for comment.

Kampot men summoned in land spat

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:02 Mom Kunthear

TWO villagers involved in a land dispute in Kampot province have been called to answer questions today about attempted murder and defamation allegations lodged against them by the chief of Dop Sralao village, in Teuk Chhou district’s Trapong Pring commune.

Soung Sorn filed a complaint against Chean Sorn and Phan Sareth shortly after a June 16 altercation in which villagers accosted employees of Phnom Penh businesswoman Heav Lon and tried to stop them from clearing 58 hectares of disputed land.

A group of 26 former Khmer Rouge families claim to have lived on the land since 1983 after receiving a concession from the government, but in 2005 Heav Lon accused villagers who were farming the land of destroying her private property.

Chean Sorn said yesterday that he did not know the basis of the complaint against him, but that he had merely gone to the site three days after the altercation to take pictures of the employees clearing the land. “I went down to the land dispute on June 19 to shoot some pictures only,” he said.

Long Ngor, the chief of Trapong Pring commune, said he had already summoned the two villagers based on the complaint from Soung Sorn three times since June 16, but that they had failed to appear.

“I asked them to clarify allegations of murder and defamation to the village chief concerning the land dispute, but they did not do so,” he said.

He said he did not know whether there was a chance Chean Sorn and Phan Sareth would be arrested if they went to the district office today.

Chean Sorn, an investigator for the Kampot NGO Against Corruption Natural Resources Crackdown Interception and Citizens’ Rights Protection Organisation, said he had not decided whether he would appear.

“I am not sure whether I will appear at the police office on Thursday because I am afraid they will arrest me, even though I did not do like that the authorities have accused me,” he said.

Neither Heav Lon nor Soung Sorn could be reached for comment yesterday.

In a letter dated June 28, the Interior Ministry instructed Kampot governor Khoy Khun Hour to prevent employees of Heav Lon from clearing the land until the dispute had been resolved.

Khoy Khun Hour could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Abhisit threatens to reconsider UNESCO ties over Preah Vihear

by: AFP
Pro-government Yellow Shirt protesters hold Thai flags outside UNESCO’s office in Bangkok on Tuesday during a rally opposing Cambodia’s management plan for Preah Vihear temple.

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:01 Post Staff

THAI Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday that his government would cease cooperating with UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee if the body approves Cambodia’s management plan for Preah Vihear temple.

According to The Nation newspaper, a Thai delegation present at the meeting in Brazil, which runs until August 3, will lobby against Cambodia’s proposed management plan for the World Heritage site, which is to be presented this week.

Abhisit was quoted as saying that he would not cooperate with the WHC if the plan were approved, following a meeting with pro-government Yellow Shirt leaders yesterday that was spurred by protests outside UNESCO’s Bangkok headquarters on Tuesday. The Thai objections are based on claims that a 4.6-kilometre plot of land adjacent to the temple has not been properly demarcated.

“We think the World Heritage Committee should not consider this plan until Thailand and Cambodia have agreed upon the demarcation line,” Abhisit said. When asked if Thailand would withdraw from the WHC if the plan were approved, he was quoted as saying: “There are many options. We may consider harsh measures”.

Also yesterday, the Thai cabinet passed three resolutions relating to the WHC meeting, pledging that Bangkok would “review its membership at [UNESCO] if the international agency endorses the management plan”.

Cambodian government officials said Thailand’s statements concerning the issue would harm its international reputation. Tith Sothea, spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit at the Council of Ministers, said yesterday that the objections were part of an attempt by the Thai

government and “extremists” to “pollute the atmosphere” of relations between the two countries.

“Cambodia doesn’t care at all about the objection,” he said. “The objection was created by a group of extremists and the government in a campaign to pollute the atmosphere and show Thailand’s intention to invade Cambodia. The objection by Thailand will destroy its own honour in the international community.”

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said yesterday that the International Court of Justice awarded Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia in 1962. He added that Cambodia’s claim to the 4.6-square-kilometre area of scrub next to the temple was based on a 1908 map produced by France and Thailand, then known as Siam.

“Thailand claimed the land belonged to it in 2007, referring to a unilaterally produced map,” he said. “Thailand’s falsified establishment of the map to claim the area is an international crime.

“So the 4.6 square kilometres is a falsification by Thais to claim Cambodia’s land. Now Thailand’s policy, if they get nothing, they want to co-manage the eco-management.”

Police Blotter: 29 Jul 2010

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:00 Tang Khyhay

EXCESSIVE SPEED, COW COMBINE FOR ACCIDENT

At least 14 people were injured after a bus slammed into a cow in Kampong Thom province Tuesday, police said. Investigators blamed the crash on the bus driver, who was apparently speeding when the vehicle ploughed into the cow as it crossed the road. Twelve foreign tourists were injured, as were two Cambodians. All of the injured were sent to the provincial hospital. There was no word on the cow’s condition.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

SCANTILY CLAD WOMAN CAUSES RUCKUS IN CAPITAL

Police in Phnom Penh’s Tuol Kork district said they arrested a 26-year-old Russian woman Tuesday after she was seen walking around on a public street wearing only her underwear. The woman reported that she had been living in Cambodia doing business for the last four years. However, she said her money and passport had been stolen last year. After an inquiry into the case, local police ruled that the woman was mentally ill and sent her on to the Russian embassy.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

SCHOOL BUS V TRACTOR: LOSSES ON BOTH SIDES

Seven students were injured after the school bus on which they were travelling collided with a tractor in Kampong Cham province Monday. Police said the bus and the tractor had been going in the same direction, but the two vehicles somehow crashed. Three people on the tractor were also injured. The victims were sent to hospital, and the two vehicles were kept at the police station as investigators pondered the case.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

MUSSEL SELLER INJURED IN RUSSEY KEO CRASH

A 21-year-old mussel vendor was seriously injured after a speeding car ploughed into him while he was pushing his cart down the street in Russey Keo district. Witnesses reported seeing the hurtling car slam into the man Monday. Police said the driver, a doctor, was drunk. The victim was sent to hospital, while the driver was carted off to the police station. On Tuesday, the driver negotiated a compensation payment.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

COPS CLAIM MAN LURED WOMAN AND RAPED HER

A 31-year-old man was arrested Saturday after he allegedly raped an 18-year-old woman in a hotel. Police alleged that the suspect lured the woman from Phnom Penh to Battambang province by asking her to help him in his newly opened phone shop. After her arrival, he took her out for dinner, then brought her back to the hotel where the rape is alleged to have occurred. Police said the suspect denied raping the woman.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Infinity to help insure hydroelectric project

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:01 Catherine James

INFINITY Insurance has signed on as an insurer for construction of the US$412 million China Huadian hydropower project in Koh Kong province, its chief executive, David Carter, said yesterday.

Infinity will insure the project for the duration of construction – slated to last until 2014 – in conjunction with state-owned People’s Insurance Company of China, he said.

Under the terms of yesterday’s deal, PICC will largely act as a reinsurer.

“This is a very large project, and so Infinity can only take a small amount of the risk,” he said.

“The major proportion is reinsured out. Even though we do pass over quite a significant amount of risk, it does not mean that we’re in any way freed up from the whole thing,” he said.

If the reinsurer could not pay out on a claim, the responsibility would fall directly to the insurer, but that scenario was unlikely, he said.

Carter said that being brought on board by PICC was a “great result”.

New joint venture: Singaporean invests in pawn shop

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:01 May Kunmakara

A SINGAPOREAN investor has put US$500,000 into a joint-venture pawnshop in Phnom Penh that is only the fourth to be registered in the Kingdom.

Steven Lam, director of the new business, Cash-U-Up, said the company would offer more financial solutions to Cambodians who had difficulties in accessing bank services.

“We intend to implement the skills brought from Singapore to succeed in our business here,” he said.

“We offer [services] to everyone who needs financial services or cash in advance that would be difficult to get from the bank or financial institutions.”

Cash-U-Up is set to provide small loans with a 3 percent interest rate against collateral of all kinds of property, such as jewellery, phones, cars, motorcycles and laptops.

The licensed store opened yesterday in Phnom Penh’s PGCT center on Street 274, but will compete with a host of unlicensed operators.

Under a January prakas, or edict, pawn shops require a permit to operate. Operators must have minimum capital of 80 million riels (about $18,823), of which 10 percent is required for a deposit at a Finance Ministry account at the National Bank of Cambodia.

Mey Vann, the MoF director of financial industry, said: “Our goal is to avoid them from accepting the stolen things to curb robbery in the country.

“Relying on the prakas

requires them to get registered but we cannot force them. We have to educate them to understand clearly about the law first,” and the government would take action in the future, he said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen returned from Singapore on Tuesday, where he highlighted investment opportunities.

ASEAN valuers plan to train Cambodians

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:01 Soeun Say

THE Association of Southeast Asian Nation Valuers’ Association will hold a conference on real estate appraisals in Cambodia next year, the first time the event has come to the Kingdom.

“Our country has little experience in valuing real estate, but Singapore and Malaysia will send experts to the conference next year to train us to an international standard in property valuation,” said Sung Bonna, president of the National Valuers’ Association of Cambodia, yesterday.

The ASEAN Valuers’ Association allows regional real estate valuers to share opinions and exchange experience in a bid to keep up with the latest developments in the field.

Cambodia obtained membership last year, Sung Bonna said.

Membership in the association promotes transparent practices in appraisals, which helps to keep keep the market stable, he said. It also allowed real estate agents to gain experience managing property transactions.

“We are happy to hold the event for AVA,” he said.

“It is very important for our country to reach an international standard in property valuation.”

The decision to hold a meeting in Phnom Penh was made at its 16th annual congress, which was held in Bangkok last week.

The regional association was established in 1981 with five founding members: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Brunei joined in 1990, Vietnam in 1997 and Cambodia in 2009, according to the organisation’s website.

Rubber group sees rosy future

Vietnamese Rubber Enterprise Federation President Leng Rithy. Phnom Penh Post

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:01 Chun Sophal

The Vietnamese Rubber Enterprise Federation includes 17 companies and has invested US$1 billion in growing rubber in Cambodia. The Post talked to Leng Rithy, its president.

Why is Vietnam interested in investing in Cambodian rubber plantations?

Vietnam is interested in growing rubber in Cambodia for several reasons.

First, Cambodia has a lot of potential free land which is suitable for rubber.

Cambodia is also next to Vietnam, which makes communication easy. The two countries have similar weather, and their people also have similar cultures.

How much capital will Vietnam invest and how many hectares of land area will the federation grow rubber on?

We have prepared a total amount of nearly US$1 billion to grow rubber, on a total economic concession land area of 100,000 hectares.

Of this amount, $600 million will be used for plantations, $200 million will be used for building infrastructure in the rubber plantation areas.

The other $200 million will be used for building rubber-processing factories.

How did the Vietnamese Rubber Enterprise Federation get such a large area to grow rubber on?

It was very difficult to find large areas of land to grow rubber on, but we were able to receive such a large area because [the project] has got support from the prime minister of Cambodia, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and local authorities of all levels.

What kind of encouragement did the project receive from the Cambodian government?

Cambodian law gives very broad encouragement to investment.

Under these laws the federation has been facilitated by the Cambodian government to import agricultural materials, fertiliser, and rubber breeds with import tax at zero percent.

When will the project be finished?

At first we planned to finish it by 2015. But because of the support and facilitation we received from the government, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and local authorities of the provinces in which we are growing rubber – including Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom, Kratie Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri – we have speeded up.

Our plantation is set to be finished by 2012. We planned to grow 10,000 hectares in 2009, 20,000 hectares this year, 30,000 hectares in 2011 and then 40,000 hectares in 2012.

How big will your workforce be?

We plan to employ 40,000 workers. Of those, 30,000 would work on the plantations and the other 10,000 would be employed in the technical work, administrative work and in factories.

These workers are from Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, Kampong Thom, Pursat, Takeo and Kampong Chhnang provinces.

Is it difficult to recruit a large number of workers?

At first, it was very difficult for us to recruit workers because most of them did not trust our investment very much.

But now, seeing our achievements, many people who used to migrate to work elsewhere have been returning home to grow rubber for us.

So far, the federation has been building houses to provide accommodation to workers at the base of each plantation.

Moreover, we are building schools and health-care centres to provide health-care services.

Workers who came here first saw that their lifestyle was improved and have been persuading their relatives to come to work for us more and more.

Besides growing rubber, does the federation have plans to do anything else?

We plan to build two big rubber-processing factories in Kampong Thom and Kratie provinces in late 2011.

We will equip the two factories with modern facilities and high-tech systems to produce international-standard-quality rubber.

Moreover, we plan to choose a place in one of the two provinces to use as location for us to transform rubber into finished products such as car tyres, medical tools, condoms and gloves.

We will complete all these projects by 2016 and in 2017 the federation will start to harvest resin.

How much rubber does the federation expect to produce per year?

We expect to get 20,000 tonnes of rubber in 2015, and the output will increase up to as much as 200,000 tonnes by 2018 when all rubber we have grown will yield.

We believe our estimation will not be wrong because the rubber breeds we have chosen to grow in Cambodia are the best ones, which will yield at least 2 tonnes per hectare.

What do you think of the investment environment here?

Vietnam dares to invest as much as $1 billion to grow rubber like this because we found that the Cambodian government has been giving priority and paying a lot of attention to the agro-industrial sector, which provides a good opportunity for all investors in general.

In the name of investment, we must be aware of and able to take hold of opportunities for investing, especially in such circumstances, because a quick decision can also bring us more benefits.

Farmers join freshies in art show

Nov Cheanick, Farmer 8, Farmers series, 2010, ink on paper.

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:00 Roth Meas

CAMBODIAN artists Nov Cheanick and Ouk Sochivy are showing their paintings at an exhibition titled Farmers and Freshies, opening tonight at Sa Sa Art Gallery in Phnom Penh.

Ouk Sochivy, Freshie 6, Freshies series, 2010, oil on canvas.      Vuth Lyno, the manager of Sa Sa, said the exhibition marked the first time paintings had been displayed at the gallery since it opened last year, as all previous shows featured photographs.

“We’re organising this exhibition not only to show paintings that reflect social issues in Cambodia but also to introduce everyone to new artists,” he said.

Vuth Lyno said he decided to exhibit the two artists together because, although they are both young Cambodian painters, they used their work to explore completely different topics.

Nov Cheanick, 21, who lives in the countryside, paints the farmers he sees around his house in Battambang province. He said he wanted other people to understand how hard farmers work to grow rice.

Ouk Sochivy, 25, who lives in Phnom Penh, is more concerned with painting urban youths who copy the styles of the effeminate “freshie boys” and “freshie girls” they see on television.

“This exhibition will show the differences in young people from different parts of the country,” Vuth Lyno said. “Youths in the city are modernised, but those in the countryside seem separated from society, even though they play an important role in Cambodia’s economy.”

Nov Cheanick, who lives with his father and brother in Battambang province, said he didn’t get a good education as a result of his parents’ divorce. He dropped out of school in 2003, but the following year started attending art classes run by the Cambodian NGO Phare Ponleu Selpak, whose school was near his house.

“I spent six years learning how to paint and make wood carvings there,” he said.

Although he has experimented with different colours in his paintings, he mostly creates black-and-white images, a preference reflected in the artwork on display at the Sa Sa Art Gallery show.

“I just think black-and-white paintings are livelier than colourful pictures,” he said.

Nov Cheanick said his method was to spray water onto white paper, drop black ink onto the paper and then use a brush to make the painting.

“I paint farmers I see near my house,” he said. “I hope my paintings will remind viewers that farmers are always working hard. Some of them never get proper educations, and their lives can seem out of touch with modern society.

“The emotions on the faces in my paintings show the situation of our farmers.”

Since finishing his classes at Phare Ponleu Selpak, Nov Cheanick has been teaching art to drug addicts at rehabilitation centres in Bovel and Battambang, making his own paintings in his spare time.

“In the future I just want to be an artist who paints pictures for people to see,” he said.

The other artist in the show, Ouk Sochivy, is the granddaughter of the famous contemporary folk painter Svay Ken, who died two years ago.

“Several months before he died, Svay Ken taught me how to paint in his style and even asked me not to learn art from anyone else so the style would not be influenced by others,” she said.

Like her grandfather, she works with oil on canvas. But while Svay Ken focused on rural scenes and autobiographical images, Ouk Sochivy paints young Cambodian urbanites who sport western clothing and overdone hairstyles.

“Through my paintings, I want to show that many Cambodian youths in the city are influenced by Western styles, such as girls who wear short skirts,” she said. “Cambodian tradition dictates that people should wear appropriate clothing, so these styles can impact our traditional values.”

Ouk Sochivy said that as long as her paintings attracted viewers, she would continue painting in her grandfather’s style.

Farmers and Freshies opens at Sa Sa Art Gallary at (7 Street 360) tonight at 6pm and will continue through September 15. Both artists will be present at the opening.

Contest winner seeks high profile for Khmer music

Photo by: Uy Nousereimony
Contestants take part in the Universal Khmer Song Festival 2010

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:00 Ou Mom

IN the past decade the onslaught of hip-hop, alternative rock and vapid Korean pop music has increasingly overpowered and displaced the Cambodian music of the 1960s and 1970s on Phnom Penh’s airwaves.

But the Cambodian music of yesterday took centre stage during the Universal Khmer Song Festival 2010, which started in April and culminated with a finals smackdown on July 22 and 23 at Diamond Island in Phnom Penh.

The competition divided contestants into two categories: those singing pop songs composed by Cambodians, mostly from the 1960s and 1970s; and those focusing on classical Khmer songs, which are mostly heard these days at traditional weddings.

The contest started in April in May with the selection of four candidates (two male and two female) from each province. Through provincial heats, the numbers were whittled down to 48 singers, who joined 20 Cambodian candidates living abroad for the semifinal competition in Phnom Penh from July 2 to 4.

From among these, 28 candidates were selected to take part in the finals, during which awards were given to the top five males and top five females in each of the two categories.

The first-place male in the pop song category, 31-year-old Thon Samut Sithun, said he never expected to win when he first entered the competition.

“I took part in the contest because I thought it would give me the opportunity to meet other Cambodian singers and song lovers, and help promote Khmer music,” said Thon Samut Sithun, who works as a chef in France.

He won the contest by singing Sin Si Samut’s famous song “Pruat Phnom Sampov” (“Separated from Sampov Mountain”). “I started singing when I was 12 years old and was only interested in Sin Si Samut, who was known as the Golden-Voiced Emperor of Cambodia,” he said.

Thon Samut Sithun said he enjoyed the support of his father, who, seeing his talent as a singer, bought him a cassette player and a collection of Sin Si Samut song cassettes so he could practice.

Thon Samut Sithun said he started working as a singer in Phnom Penh in 1998, at first earning US$2 a night but later doubling his salary.

“In 2003 I got my first chance to sing on Bayon TV,” he said. “It was at that point that I added ‘Samut’ to my name since I was singing the songs of Sin Si Samut.”

“By adding ‘Samut’ to my name, I don’t mean to compare myself to the Golden-Voiced Emperor,” he said. “I just regard him as my idol and like to remind people how grateful I am for his contribution to Cambodian culture and art.”

In 2004 Thon Samut Sithun moved to Paris and married Tang Srey Pich, who is also a Khmer song lover and owns a music production company in Paris called Ponlee Reachsey.

As a first-place victor in the Universal Khmer Song Festival, Thon Samut Sithun earned a winner’s certificate, a laptop computer, 6 million riels (about US$1,400) and other small gifts.

“The prizes were not important to me. The important thing was to meet fans of Cambodian music and help develop the music scene here,” he said.

He said his ambition is to eventually establish his own music production company in Cambodia.

“I plan to come back to Cambodia in 2014 with more experience and more knowledge about the music industry,” Thon Samut Sithun said.

Premium revenues rising

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:00 Nguon Sovan

CAMBODIA’S insurance premium revenues significantly increased in the first six months of the year, and growth was set to continue, the General Insurance Association of Cambodia said.

According to figures from GIAC, the Kingdom’s six insurance firms racked up US$11.22 million in premium revenue in the first half – 33 percent more than the $8.48 million accrued during the same period last year.

Chhay Rattanak, GIAC chairman, said the growth would be steady for rest the year.

“I think that the premium revenues will increase around 20 percent to 25 percent in 2010,” he said yesterday.

The growth was attributable to an increase in engineering projects seeking cover, he said.

“Up to June 2010, we saw a big increase of premium revenue in engineering, but for other products there was not a big change,” he said.

According to GIAC figures, the sector derived 22.4 percent of its revenues from fire insurance and 21.4 percent from motor coverage. It drew 23.8 percent from miscellaneous and personal accident insurance, 17.3 percent from engineering, 13.8 percent from medical and 1.2 percent from marine coverage.

He added that the sum of claims in the first six months was just $3.2 million.

Youk Chamroeunrith, Forte Insurance general manager, forecast 35 percent growth for Forte’s premium revenues for the remainder of the year.

Cao Minh Son, Cambodia Vietnam Insurance chief executive, said earlier this month that the market was very competitive. CVI, which only opened in November, hit $508,000 revenue for the first six months of the year, roughly 50 percent of its target. Most came from aviation insurance to Cambodia Angkor Air.

Last year, the industry earned a total premium revenue of $20.07 million – a 2.86 percent drop from 2008.

The Phnom Penh Post News in Brief

via Khmer NZ

Elixir changes name

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:00 Jeremy Mullins

ELIXIR Gaming Technologies, which runs up to 670 gaming machines at Phnom Penh's sole casino NagaWorld, has changed its name to Entertainment Gaming Asia. The change came as the firm planned to expand beyond gaming machines to build its first casino in Cambodia’s Takeo province, it said in a release. The firm will continue to trade on New York’s AMEX exchange under the EGT ticker symbol.

Loran announces deal to export jasmine rice

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:00 Chun Sophal

LORAN Import Export Company has signed an agreement to export 820 tonnes of jasmine rice worth US$762,600 to Europe by the end of August. Lim Bun Heng, company president, said Loran would export 500 tonnes to Portugal, 110 tonnes to France, 110 tonnes to Switzerland, and 100 tonnes to Italy for US$930 per tonne, shipped via Sihanoukville Autonomous Port.

Bangkok and Phnom Penh again at loggerheads over Preah Vihear

Source: http://www.asianews.it/

via Khmer NZ

07/28/2010

THAILAND – CAMBODIA

by Weena Kowitwanij

Cambodia plans to use the 34th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee to present its management plan for the Preah Vihear Temple, an area Thailand considers its own. Yesterday, a thousand Thais protested against the UNESCO in front of its offices in Bangkok. Thailand’s prime minister complains that the “world-heritage inscription often turns tourist zones into areas of conflict”.

Bangkok (AsiaNews) – Thailand and Cambodia continue to be at loggerheads over the Preah Vihear Temple. About a thousand protesters gathered outside UNESCO offices in Bangkok to oppose the UN agency’s decision to view the ancient temple as a Cambodian World Heritage Site. During the 34th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee currently underway, Cambodia is set to submit its management plan for temple compound.

The dispute between Thailand and Cambodia goes back to 1962 when the International Court of Justice ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but failed to make a decision on the land adjacent the complex, giving rise to constant spats between the two nations. Although perched on a hill top in Cambodian territory, the temple is easily accessible only from the Thai side.

After years of negotiations, the dispute flared up again in 2008, when UNESCO decided to add the temple to its list of world Heritage sites, which would have required Thailand to make it accessible from its side of the border.

Since then, Thai and Cambodian troops have clashed. In the latest incident in April 2009, four Thai soldiers died.

Major General Chamlong Srimuang, leader of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) who led the recent protest in front of UNESCO’s Bangkok headquarters, said that the border was drawn by French colonial experts, but that Thailand never accepted it. He also slammed the Thai government for not putting sufficient pressures on UNESCO to solve the issue. In his view, the government should boycott the session.

“Even though Thai representatives will attend the conference,” he said, “there is nothing on their agenda to indicate that Thailand plans to protest in the matter. If UNESCO has accepted the Temple of Phra Viharn (alternative spelling) case, it will be to the disadvantage of Thailand,” he added.

Yesterday, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that the Thai delegation at the World Heritage Committee session would defend Thailand’s rights and interests.

"We think the World Heritage Committee should not consider this [Cambodia’s] plan until Thailand and Cambodia have agreed upon the demarcation line," Abhisit said.

"The United Nations and its related agencies were established to promote peace. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee needs to review why its world-heritage inscription often turns tourist zones into areas of conflict," he added.

Unesco delays pondering management plan to tonight

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/

via Khmer NZ

PREAH VIHEAR CONTROVERSY

Unesco's World Heritage Committee has decided to postpone consideration on the controversial Preah Vihear Temple management plan from yesterday to tonight.

The postponement came after Cambodia's representatives requested an urgent talk with Thai Natural Resource and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti who is at the WH committee meeting in Brazil.

The panel will decide the matter again at about 10pm Bangkok time.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday considered options to retaliate against Unesco if the WH Committee approved the controversial Preah Vihear temple management plan.

PM revealed the option although the United Nations agency has guaranteed that the Hindu temple's inscription has nothing to do with the disputed border areas with Cambodia.

Among the options suggested by ministers was for Natural Resource and Environment

Suwit Khunkitti threatened to stage a walkout, and withdraw Thailand's membership from the Unesco committee.

Abhisit blamed the Unesco committee for listing Preah Vihear, which had created conflict between the two neighbouring countries. "If Unesco accepts the plan, it will create a wide rift between the people of the two countries," he was quoted by a source as saying at the Cabinet meeting.

Abhisit had instructed Suwit to lobby for a delay of the Preah Vihear management plan until the border dispute with Cambodia could be settled.