Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
LAOTIAN authorities have repatriated the remains of a 27-year-old Cambodian man who was shot and killed last week in Champasak province during an altercation with Laotian soldiers, officials and rights workers said Wednesday.
Officials say the dead man crossed into Laos from Cambodia’s Stung Treng province with six friends, all of whom were from Kampong Chhnang province.
Stung Treng provincial Governor Loy Sophat said Sunday that the men, carrying illegal drugs and weapons, confronted a group of Laotian soldiers and began chasing them before one of the soldiers shot and killed 27-year-old Praing Sokha.
Two men from the group were arrested by Laotian authorities and are being held pending negotiations between Cambodian and Laotian officials, Stung Treng deputy police chief Phiv Vondeoun said.
Hou Sam Ol, Stung Treng provincial monitor for the rights group Adhoc, said Praing Sokha’s body was returned on Saturday and was cremated near the border.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Survivors shunned by their peers
Mom Kunthear and Brooke Lewis
Phnom Penh Post
THANG Kham is a nurse with formal training and experience who has also worked as a teacher and, most recently, a cook. But as she prepares to return from Kandal province to her native Siem Reap on Friday, she is worried she won’t be able to find work.
That’s because the 62-year-old suffered severe scars on her face and one arm in an acid attack in Phnom Penh’s Kandal Market 20 years ago that also injured four other women, one of whom died. Though she does not believe she was the target of the attack, she has lived with the scars from it for two decades, eventually seeking assistance at the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity (CASC four years ago.
She now believes she is ready to live on her own. “I plan to leave this charity on Friday. I am going to live with my children in Siem Reap province,” she said in an interview Wednesday.
“But I don’t know what kind of job I can do. It is useless for me to look for a job as a nurse since I was attacked, even though I have the ability, because my face is bad-looking and my hands are trembling.”
She added that it would be difficult to continue working as a cook because customers might be scared off by her appearance.
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Phnom Penh Post
THANG Kham is a nurse with formal training and experience who has also worked as a teacher and, most recently, a cook. But as she prepares to return from Kandal province to her native Siem Reap on Friday, she is worried she won’t be able to find work.
That’s because the 62-year-old suffered severe scars on her face and one arm in an acid attack in Phnom Penh’s Kandal Market 20 years ago that also injured four other women, one of whom died. Though she does not believe she was the target of the attack, she has lived with the scars from it for two decades, eventually seeking assistance at the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity (CASC four years ago.
She now believes she is ready to live on her own. “I plan to leave this charity on Friday. I am going to live with my children in Siem Reap province,” she said in an interview Wednesday.
“But I don’t know what kind of job I can do. It is useless for me to look for a job as a nurse since I was attacked, even though I have the ability, because my face is bad-looking and my hands are trembling.”
She added that it would be difficult to continue working as a cook because customers might be scared off by her appearance.
Read More
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Honouring fallen comrades
David Boyle and Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
A T the site where five journalists were beaten to death almost 40 years ago, former war correspondents gathered for an emotional ceremony on Thursday with local villagers to mourn the deaths of all journalists killed during the 1970-75 civil war in Cambodia.
More than two dozen former correspondents participated in the ceremony commemorating their fallen colleagues, planting a tree at Wat Po in Kampong Speu province and joining in a Buddhist ceremony that offered up blessings for the dead along with food and other gifts.
With tears in her eyes, Elizabeth Becker, who covered Cambodia for The Washington Post, read the names of all the journalists who died during the Lon Nol regime. At her side was Yoko Ishiyama, whose husband, Koki Ishiyama, was killed by the Khmer Rouge in a seperate incident in 1973.
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Phnom Penh Post
A T the site where five journalists were beaten to death almost 40 years ago, former war correspondents gathered for an emotional ceremony on Thursday with local villagers to mourn the deaths of all journalists killed during the 1970-75 civil war in Cambodia.
More than two dozen former correspondents participated in the ceremony commemorating their fallen colleagues, planting a tree at Wat Po in Kampong Speu province and joining in a Buddhist ceremony that offered up blessings for the dead along with food and other gifts.
With tears in her eyes, Elizabeth Becker, who covered Cambodia for The Washington Post, read the names of all the journalists who died during the Lon Nol regime. At her side was Yoko Ishiyama, whose husband, Koki Ishiyama, was killed by the Khmer Rouge in a seperate incident in 1973.
Read More
More diarrhoea deaths
Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
TWO residents of Peam Khes village in Stung Treng province died from severe vomiting and diarrhoea late last week, and a further 20 were admitted to the district health centre with similar symptoms, health officials said Tuesday.
Chhoun Samneang, director of Siem Pang district health centre, said the 20 people who had been treated were all in recovery, and that the two who died had not sought treatment at the health centre.
“Two people died in their village, a 55-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, after they had severe diarrhoea,” he said.
Chhoun Samneang said patient samples had been sent for testing, and that emergency health workers have been put on standby in the village so that any further cases can be treated as quickly as possible.
Bou Vutha, deputy director of the Stung Treng provincial health department, said Tuesday that there had been a similar outbreak in the same district earlier this month after a group of about 12 villagers returned from a trip to the forest.
“We don’t know what kind of water they drank when they stayed in the forest, but when they arrived home they had diarrhoea and vomiting,” she said. She added that they had ignored advice given to them by health officials.
“I went down to their villages and explained to them to bring boiled water with them when they go into the forest. I don’t know why they didn’t follow this advice,” she said.
Phnom Penh Post
TWO residents of Peam Khes village in Stung Treng province died from severe vomiting and diarrhoea late last week, and a further 20 were admitted to the district health centre with similar symptoms, health officials said Tuesday.
Chhoun Samneang, director of Siem Pang district health centre, said the 20 people who had been treated were all in recovery, and that the two who died had not sought treatment at the health centre.
“Two people died in their village, a 55-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, after they had severe diarrhoea,” he said.
Chhoun Samneang said patient samples had been sent for testing, and that emergency health workers have been put on standby in the village so that any further cases can be treated as quickly as possible.
Bou Vutha, deputy director of the Stung Treng provincial health department, said Tuesday that there had been a similar outbreak in the same district earlier this month after a group of about 12 villagers returned from a trip to the forest.
“We don’t know what kind of water they drank when they stayed in the forest, but when they arrived home they had diarrhoea and vomiting,” she said. She added that they had ignored advice given to them by health officials.
“I went down to their villages and explained to them to bring boiled water with them when they go into the forest. I don’t know why they didn’t follow this advice,” she said.
Ban on marriage to South Koreans lifted
Will Baxter and Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
THE government said Tuesday that it had lifted a temporary ban on marriages between Cambodian women and South Korean men that was imposed last month after a broker was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in arranging such unions.
Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said a “confidential” letter had been sent to all embassies last Thursday stating that foreigners looking to marry Cambodians must appear in person to submit applications to his ministry as well as to the Interior Ministry and local authorities. The letter, he added, had effectively lifted the ban.
When the ban was announced last month, Koy Kuong said it would remain in place until the government could establish an effective screening mechanism to prevent cases of trafficking.
Last week, however, Chou Bun Eng, a secretary of state at the Interior Ministry, said the government was planning to lift the ban, but that no protocols had been put in place beyond sub-decree 183, the article that governs marriages between Cambodians and foreigners.
On Tuesday, Koy Kuong said changes had in fact been made to prevent marriages from being arranged by brokers such as the woman who was sentenced in March.
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Phnom Penh Post
THE government said Tuesday that it had lifted a temporary ban on marriages between Cambodian women and South Korean men that was imposed last month after a broker was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in arranging such unions.
Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said a “confidential” letter had been sent to all embassies last Thursday stating that foreigners looking to marry Cambodians must appear in person to submit applications to his ministry as well as to the Interior Ministry and local authorities. The letter, he added, had effectively lifted the ban.
When the ban was announced last month, Koy Kuong said it would remain in place until the government could establish an effective screening mechanism to prevent cases of trafficking.
WE HAVE TRIED TO IMPROVE THE PROCEDURE TO PREVENT HUMAN TRAFFICKING."
Last week, however, Chou Bun Eng, a secretary of state at the Interior Ministry, said the government was planning to lift the ban, but that no protocols had been put in place beyond sub-decree 183, the article that governs marriages between Cambodians and foreigners.
On Tuesday, Koy Kuong said changes had in fact been made to prevent marriages from being arranged by brokers such as the woman who was sentenced in March.
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Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Left behind in the northeast
Brooke Lewis and Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
THREE-quarters of girls in Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri provinces spend fewer than two years in primary and secondary education, far more than the national average of 12 percent, according to a report to be released in Phnom Penh today that identifies northeast Cambodia as one of 20 regions worldwide facing “acute education deprivation”.
The 2010 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, titled “Reaching the Marginalised”, was produced to assess progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for education.
To meet that goal, Cambodia must facilitate universal access to nine years of basic education, a target that the report suggests is a long way from being achieved.
“In Cambodia’s most disadvantaged provinces, young women average just 1.8 years of school, compared with 3.2 years for young men,” the report reads, referring to Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri.
And enrolment is not the only area in which Cambodia is coming up short. National literacy rates for 15-to-24-year-olds are projected to reach 89 percent for females and 93 percent for males by 2015, falling below the MDG target of 95 percent for females and 100 percent for males.
Sun Lei, an education specialist for UNESCO in Phnom Penh, said on Sunday that although girls are disproportionately affected by limited education resources, all students in remote provinces – and especially in Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri – face barriers to learning.
Read More
Phnom Penh Post
THREE-quarters of girls in Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri provinces spend fewer than two years in primary and secondary education, far more than the national average of 12 percent, according to a report to be released in Phnom Penh today that identifies northeast Cambodia as one of 20 regions worldwide facing “acute education deprivation”.
The 2010 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, titled “Reaching the Marginalised”, was produced to assess progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for education.
To meet that goal, Cambodia must facilitate universal access to nine years of basic education, a target that the report suggests is a long way from being achieved.
“In Cambodia’s most disadvantaged provinces, young women average just 1.8 years of school, compared with 3.2 years for young men,” the report reads, referring to Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri.
And enrolment is not the only area in which Cambodia is coming up short. National literacy rates for 15-to-24-year-olds are projected to reach 89 percent for females and 93 percent for males by 2015, falling below the MDG target of 95 percent for females and 100 percent for males.
Sun Lei, an education specialist for UNESCO in Phnom Penh, said on Sunday that although girls are disproportionately affected by limited education resources, all students in remote provinces – and especially in Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri – face barriers to learning.
Read More
Acid law to have article on bias
Mom Kunthear and Irwin Loy
Phnom Penh Post
THE deputy director of a committee charged with drafting legislation covering acid crimes said Monday that he planned to introduce an article aimed at preventing workplace discrimination against victims, a statement that was praised by victims’ advocates.
Ouk Kimlek, who is also an undersecretary of state at the Interior Ministry, said he hopes the article – which he plans to propose during a meeting expected to be held next week – will include language discouraging employers from refusing to hire victims with scars or other visible injuries resulting from their attacks.
“In our policy, we will make it a point to not discriminate against acid victims at the workplace,” Ouk Kimlek said.
He added, though, that he was unsure whether the committee would consider suggesting punishments for employers who refuse to hire acid attack victims.
“We’re not thinking about whether we will have to penalise company owners or other places that refuse to hire acid victims, because it is a very difficult thing for us,” Ouk Kimlek said. “But we have to set up points about discrimination in the law.”
He emphasised the need to balance victims’ interests with those of business owners who might be concerned that employees with visible injuries would drive away customers.
“For example, if they run a restaurant, and there are many guests who come to eat in their restaurant, and one day, the owner accepts a new waitress who is an acid victim, the next day their business may be bankrupt because customers are afraid of the new waitress’s face,” Ouk Kimlek said.
Read More
Phnom Penh Post
THE deputy director of a committee charged with drafting legislation covering acid crimes said Monday that he planned to introduce an article aimed at preventing workplace discrimination against victims, a statement that was praised by victims’ advocates.
Ouk Kimlek, who is also an undersecretary of state at the Interior Ministry, said he hopes the article – which he plans to propose during a meeting expected to be held next week – will include language discouraging employers from refusing to hire victims with scars or other visible injuries resulting from their attacks.
“In our policy, we will make it a point to not discriminate against acid victims at the workplace,” Ouk Kimlek said.
He added, though, that he was unsure whether the committee would consider suggesting punishments for employers who refuse to hire acid attack victims.
“We’re not thinking about whether we will have to penalise company owners or other places that refuse to hire acid victims, because it is a very difficult thing for us,” Ouk Kimlek said. “But we have to set up points about discrimination in the law.”
He emphasised the need to balance victims’ interests with those of business owners who might be concerned that employees with visible injuries would drive away customers.
“For example, if they run a restaurant, and there are many guests who come to eat in their restaurant, and one day, the owner accepts a new waitress who is an acid victim, the next day their business may be bankrupt because customers are afraid of the new waitress’s face,” Ouk Kimlek said.
Read More
Raising the youth
Brooke Lewis and Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
REGIONAL experts and government officials on Monday used the launch of a report on the Millennium Development Goal for education to highlight areas where Cambodia has not made much progress, notably adult literacy, which some said had been overshadowed by the effort to bolster enrolment at the primary level.
The 2010 Education For All Report highlights the need to improve access to education for Cambodia’s marginalised populations, especially in the remote northeast, which it identified as one of 20 regions worldwide facing “acute education deprivation”.
Those at the launch on Monday said that although it was important to improve access for people in the remote provinces of Mondulkiri and Ratanakkiri, there are also large sections of society, such as adults, that are being overlooked nationwide.
Professor Heribert Hinzen, regional director of DVV International, a Germany-based adult education NGO, said it is unlikely that Cambodia will be able to meet the MDG target of cutting illiteracy levels in half by 2015.
Read More
Phnom Penh Post
REGIONAL experts and government officials on Monday used the launch of a report on the Millennium Development Goal for education to highlight areas where Cambodia has not made much progress, notably adult literacy, which some said had been overshadowed by the effort to bolster enrolment at the primary level.
The 2010 Education For All Report highlights the need to improve access to education for Cambodia’s marginalised populations, especially in the remote northeast, which it identified as one of 20 regions worldwide facing “acute education deprivation”.
Those at the launch on Monday said that although it was important to improve access for people in the remote provinces of Mondulkiri and Ratanakkiri, there are also large sections of society, such as adults, that are being overlooked nationwide.
Professor Heribert Hinzen, regional director of DVV International, a Germany-based adult education NGO, said it is unlikely that Cambodia will be able to meet the MDG target of cutting illiteracy levels in half by 2015.
Read More
Monday, April 26, 2010
Left behind in the northeast
Brooke Lewis and Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
THREE-quarters of girls in Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri provinces spend fewer than two years in primary and secondary education, far more than the national average of 12 percent, according to a report to be released in Phnom Penh today that identifies northeast Cambodia as one of 20 regions worldwide facing “acute education deprivation”.
The 2010 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, titled “Reaching the Marginalised”, was produced to assess progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for education.
To meet that goal, Cambodia must facilitate universal access to nine years of basic education, a target that the report suggests is a long way from being achieved.
“In Cambodia’s most disadvantaged provinces, young women average just 1.8 years of school, compared with 3.2 years for young men,” the report reads, referring to Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri.
And enrolment is not the only area in which Cambodia is coming up short. National literacy rates for 15-to-24-year-olds are projected to reach 89 percent for females and 93 percent for males by 2015, falling below the MDG target of 95 percent for females and 100 percent for males.
Sun Lei, an education specialist for UNESCO in Phnom Penh, said on Sunday that although girls are disproportionately affected by limited education resources, all students in remote provinces – and especially in Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri – face barriers to learning.
“Most of the children out of schools are from remote areas, and many are ethnic minorities,” she said.
Sao Vansey, executive director of Indigenous Community Support Organisation, a local NGO, said many factors contribute to low attendance in
the two provinces, which have the highest concentration of indigenous people in Cambodia, many of whom live in extremely remote areas. These include poverty, distance from schools and cultural values that don’t prioritise formal education, he said.
Read More
Phnom Penh Post
THREE-quarters of girls in Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri provinces spend fewer than two years in primary and secondary education, far more than the national average of 12 percent, according to a report to be released in Phnom Penh today that identifies northeast Cambodia as one of 20 regions worldwide facing “acute education deprivation”.
The 2010 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, titled “Reaching the Marginalised”, was produced to assess progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for education.
To meet that goal, Cambodia must facilitate universal access to nine years of basic education, a target that the report suggests is a long way from being achieved.
“In Cambodia’s most disadvantaged provinces, young women average just 1.8 years of school, compared with 3.2 years for young men,” the report reads, referring to Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri.
And enrolment is not the only area in which Cambodia is coming up short. National literacy rates for 15-to-24-year-olds are projected to reach 89 percent for females and 93 percent for males by 2015, falling below the MDG target of 95 percent for females and 100 percent for males.
Sun Lei, an education specialist for UNESCO in Phnom Penh, said on Sunday that although girls are disproportionately affected by limited education resources, all students in remote provinces – and especially in Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri – face barriers to learning.
“Most of the children out of schools are from remote areas, and many are ethnic minorities,” she said.
Sao Vansey, executive director of Indigenous Community Support Organisation, a local NGO, said many factors contribute to low attendance in
the two provinces, which have the highest concentration of indigenous people in Cambodia, many of whom live in extremely remote areas. These include poverty, distance from schools and cultural values that don’t prioritise formal education, he said.
Read More
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Family says police shot young man on purpose
Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
THE family of a 22-year-old man who died from bullet wounds sustained during an altercation with police last week in Kampong Cham province has filed a complaint with two rights groups alleging that the officers shot at him intentionally.
Ham Kim Yory, 28, the older sister of the victim, Ham Vanda, said the complaints were filed with Adhoc and Licadho on Wednesday.
“They shot my brother three times for no reason while he was sitting in front of the house with his wife and friends. The two police came and accused my brother of stealing a necklace,” Ham Kim Yory said. She said her brother had denied the theft.
She said she knew of witnesses who would support her version of events, but Prack Bun Nun, the police chief of Ponhea Krek district, where the shooting occurred, said Ham Vanda had struggled with the officers, causing the gun to fire.
“Actually, my police didn’t want to shoot him, but the gun was triggered one time and the bullet entered his neck while the victim tried to fight to get the gun from the police,” he said. He added that the police had been tipped off that Ham Vanda stole the necklace.
“The courts can find justice and decide which side is right,” he said.
Neang Sovath, the provincial coordinator for Adhoc, said one way to solve the case would be to examine Ham Vanda’s body to determine whether he had been shot three times, as his family contends, or just once.
A complaint has not yet been filed with the provincial court, he said.
Phnom Penh Post
THE family of a 22-year-old man who died from bullet wounds sustained during an altercation with police last week in Kampong Cham province has filed a complaint with two rights groups alleging that the officers shot at him intentionally.
Ham Kim Yory, 28, the older sister of the victim, Ham Vanda, said the complaints were filed with Adhoc and Licadho on Wednesday.
“They shot my brother three times for no reason while he was sitting in front of the house with his wife and friends. The two police came and accused my brother of stealing a necklace,” Ham Kim Yory said. She said her brother had denied the theft.
She said she knew of witnesses who would support her version of events, but Prack Bun Nun, the police chief of Ponhea Krek district, where the shooting occurred, said Ham Vanda had struggled with the officers, causing the gun to fire.
“Actually, my police didn’t want to shoot him, but the gun was triggered one time and the bullet entered his neck while the victim tried to fight to get the gun from the police,” he said. He added that the police had been tipped off that Ham Vanda stole the necklace.
“The courts can find justice and decide which side is right,” he said.
Neang Sovath, the provincial coordinator for Adhoc, said one way to solve the case would be to examine Ham Vanda’s body to determine whether he had been shot three times, as his family contends, or just once.
A complaint has not yet been filed with the provincial court, he said.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Foreign war reporters arrived in Cambodia
By Leang Delux
Radio France Internationale
As planned, foreign reporters who survived the war in Cambodia at the beginning of the 70s have returned back to Cambodia to commemorate their colleagues who died or disappeared between 1970 and 1975.
27 veteran reporters have arrived in Cambodia. They will be greeted by Khieu Kanharith, the minister of Information during a dinner meeting. Now, all these reporters are in their 60s or older. The majority of them are US citizens, followed by Australians, and Brits. All of them are reporters for major news agencies in the world, such as AP, Reuters, UPI, the Washington Post, Newsweek etc…
This gathering will span over a period of 4 days, starting form Tuesday afternoon. They will meet with Cambodian reporters during dinner. There will be 3 main events that will take place on Thursday 22 April: in the morning, they will be taken to Wat Po Pagoda, located in Borset district, Kampong Speu province. The Wat Po area was the location where 9 reporters were ambushed and killed by Pol Pot soldiers on 31 May 1970. Therefore, at this pagoda, the reporters will pay respect to the memory of their fallen colleagues there.
Read More
Radio France Internationale
As planned, foreign reporters who survived the war in Cambodia at the beginning of the 70s have returned back to Cambodia to commemorate their colleagues who died or disappeared between 1970 and 1975.
27 veteran reporters have arrived in Cambodia. They will be greeted by Khieu Kanharith, the minister of Information during a dinner meeting. Now, all these reporters are in their 60s or older. The majority of them are US citizens, followed by Australians, and Brits. All of them are reporters for major news agencies in the world, such as AP, Reuters, UPI, the Washington Post, Newsweek etc…
This gathering will span over a period of 4 days, starting form Tuesday afternoon. They will meet with Cambodian reporters during dinner. There will be 3 main events that will take place on Thursday 22 April: in the morning, they will be taken to Wat Po Pagoda, located in Borset district, Kampong Speu province. The Wat Po area was the location where 9 reporters were ambushed and killed by Pol Pot soldiers on 31 May 1970. Therefore, at this pagoda, the reporters will pay respect to the memory of their fallen colleagues there.
Read More
Govt drafts new waterway law
Chhay Channyda and Bejan Siavoshy
Phnom Penh Post
A PROPOSED law regulating traffic on inland waterways would require all ship owners to display registration documents and key crewmembers to receive official certification, and would impose a range of fines and prison terms for those who fail to comply.
Chan Dara, deputy director of the Transport Department at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said ministry officials were reviewing a draft of the law, a copy of which was obtained Tuesday.
“With this new law, we hope to ensure the efficiency of businesses and safety of passengers who use the waterways,” Chan Dara said. “Before, we have had sub-decrees to enforce laws on the waterways, but this new law will ensure that the government can effectively regulate waterway traffic.”
The law would require crewmembers “engaged in waterway transport operations” to obtain an individual operational licence, which would be valid for five years. Those working as skippers, navigators, engineers or shipmasters would need to pass a certification exam.
Read More
Phnom Penh Post
A PROPOSED law regulating traffic on inland waterways would require all ship owners to display registration documents and key crewmembers to receive official certification, and would impose a range of fines and prison terms for those who fail to comply.
Chan Dara, deputy director of the Transport Department at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said ministry officials were reviewing a draft of the law, a copy of which was obtained Tuesday.
“With this new law, we hope to ensure the efficiency of businesses and safety of passengers who use the waterways,” Chan Dara said. “Before, we have had sub-decrees to enforce laws on the waterways, but this new law will ensure that the government can effectively regulate waterway traffic.”
The law would require crewmembers “engaged in waterway transport operations” to obtain an individual operational licence, which would be valid for five years. Those working as skippers, navigators, engineers or shipmasters would need to pass a certification exam.
Read More
Police detain four suspects in gang rape; five others at large
Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
FOUR men suspected of involvement in unrelated gang rapes that took place in Kratie and Banteay Meanchey provinces last week have been detained, but a further five remain on the run, officials said Tuesday.
Kratie provincial police chief Chhoung Seng Hak said one man connected with the gang rape of a 21-year-old woman last Wednesday had been sent to provincial court.
“Police in Kratie province are searching to arrest another three men who escaped, but we know their identities already,” he said.
Provincial Adhoc coordinator Thim Narin said the incident last week was the third gang rape of the year in Kratie, and that most of the suspects in all three cases remain at large.
“Early in 2010, there were two cases of gang rape in Kratie province, but only two people were arrested while the other four escaped,” she said.
She added that Adhoc had recorded seven rape cases in Kratie province so far this year, compared with only three cases for the same period last year.
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Phnom Penh Post
FOUR men suspected of involvement in unrelated gang rapes that took place in Kratie and Banteay Meanchey provinces last week have been detained, but a further five remain on the run, officials said Tuesday.
Kratie provincial police chief Chhoung Seng Hak said one man connected with the gang rape of a 21-year-old woman last Wednesday had been sent to provincial court.
“Police in Kratie province are searching to arrest another three men who escaped, but we know their identities already,” he said.
Provincial Adhoc coordinator Thim Narin said the incident last week was the third gang rape of the year in Kratie, and that most of the suspects in all three cases remain at large.
“Early in 2010, there were two cases of gang rape in Kratie province, but only two people were arrested while the other four escaped,” she said.
She added that Adhoc had recorded seven rape cases in Kratie province so far this year, compared with only three cases for the same period last year.
Read More
Maternal death stat questioned
Irwin Loy
Phnom Penh Post
HOW do you measure maternal deaths? That is the question health experts in Cambodia are facing in light of new research indicating that the rate of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth may be far lower than previously thought.
A study published in the medical journal The Lancet last week suggests that the maternal mortality rate (MMR) has dropped significantly, both globally and in Cambodia. It pegged Cambodia’s MMR at 266 deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2008, far lower than the government’s figure of 461, which is based on 2008 census data.
This number appears to contradict the widely held belief that little statistical progress has been made in curbing the preventable deaths. And domestic health experts, though buoyed by what appears to be positive news about a problem that has long proved intractable, are debating whether it reflects the true nature of the challenge on the ground.
The issue of how to estimate maternal deaths – particularly in developing countries where accurate data may not consistently be recorded – has long been the subject of debate. In this case, the study’s researchers appear to have differed from the government in their view of what should be included in maternal death totals, which provides at least a partial explanation for the lower MMR, experts say.
Read More
Phnom Penh Post
HOW do you measure maternal deaths? That is the question health experts in Cambodia are facing in light of new research indicating that the rate of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth may be far lower than previously thought.
A study published in the medical journal The Lancet last week suggests that the maternal mortality rate (MMR) has dropped significantly, both globally and in Cambodia. It pegged Cambodia’s MMR at 266 deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2008, far lower than the government’s figure of 461, which is based on 2008 census data.
This number appears to contradict the widely held belief that little statistical progress has been made in curbing the preventable deaths. And domestic health experts, though buoyed by what appears to be positive news about a problem that has long proved intractable, are debating whether it reflects the true nature of the challenge on the ground.
The issue of how to estimate maternal deaths – particularly in developing countries where accurate data may not consistently be recorded – has long been the subject of debate. In this case, the study’s researchers appear to have differed from the government in their view of what should be included in maternal death totals, which provides at least a partial explanation for the lower MMR, experts say.
Read More
Heng Pov pens book lauding PM
Cheang Sokha and James O'toole
Phnom Penh Post
FORMER Phnom Penh municipal police chief Heng Pov has written a book from prison that offers effusive praise for Prime Minister Hun Sen, in what observers say is a marked turn from previous public comments and may be an attempt to secure a pardon.
The book was first distributed to stores in central Phnom Penh on Tuesday, with Heng Pov’s preface dated January 2010. In the 227-page volume, titled Strategy to Extinguish War in Cambodia, Heng Pov offers an analysis of recent Cambodian history and politics that describes Hun Sen as the Kingdom’s most skillful leader and refers to him by his full honorific.
“The special condition of the diplomatic strategy of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen is not to consider any philosophy, country or religion as an enemy of Cambodia with whom we cannot compromise or reconcile,” Heng Pov writes, offering similar praise for the premier’s role in domestic politics.
“Samdech Techo never considered other Cambodian politicians as life-or-death enemies with whom he cannot compromise or reconcile,” he says.
Kao Soupha, Heng Pov’s lawyer, said he had proofread the book prior to publication. He said Heng Pov’s aim in writing it had been to demonstrate his patriotism and to describe Hun Sen’s political career.
“This book is not written simply to praise Hun Sen, but to show the facts of his leadership of the country,” Kao Soupha said.
Heng Pov, a widely feared leader during his time as police chief, was arrested in 2006 and sentenced last year to over 90 years in prison on a raft of charges including extortion, kidnapping and murder. He is scheduled to appear at the Appeal Court on April 30 to contest three of the cases against him, though Kao Soupha said that at this point, Heng Pov’s only hope is for the prime minister to come to his aid.
“For Heng Pov’s case, the court will never find justice for him, and only Hun Sen can save him,” Kao Soupha said.
Heng Pov’s praise for Hun Sen stands in stark contrast to previous public statements, including a 2006 interview with the French weekly L’Express in which he accused Hun Sen and former national police chief Hok Lundy of being behind the 1997 grenade attack on a Sam Rainsy Party rally and numerous other assassinations of opposition or political figures.
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Phnom Penh Post
FORMER Phnom Penh municipal police chief Heng Pov has written a book from prison that offers effusive praise for Prime Minister Hun Sen, in what observers say is a marked turn from previous public comments and may be an attempt to secure a pardon.
The book was first distributed to stores in central Phnom Penh on Tuesday, with Heng Pov’s preface dated January 2010. In the 227-page volume, titled Strategy to Extinguish War in Cambodia, Heng Pov offers an analysis of recent Cambodian history and politics that describes Hun Sen as the Kingdom’s most skillful leader and refers to him by his full honorific.
“The special condition of the diplomatic strategy of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen is not to consider any philosophy, country or religion as an enemy of Cambodia with whom we cannot compromise or reconcile,” Heng Pov writes, offering similar praise for the premier’s role in domestic politics.
“Samdech Techo never considered other Cambodian politicians as life-or-death enemies with whom he cannot compromise or reconcile,” he says.
Kao Soupha, Heng Pov’s lawyer, said he had proofread the book prior to publication. He said Heng Pov’s aim in writing it had been to demonstrate his patriotism and to describe Hun Sen’s political career.
“This book is not written simply to praise Hun Sen, but to show the facts of his leadership of the country,” Kao Soupha said.
Heng Pov, a widely feared leader during his time as police chief, was arrested in 2006 and sentenced last year to over 90 years in prison on a raft of charges including extortion, kidnapping and murder. He is scheduled to appear at the Appeal Court on April 30 to contest three of the cases against him, though Kao Soupha said that at this point, Heng Pov’s only hope is for the prime minister to come to his aid.
“For Heng Pov’s case, the court will never find justice for him, and only Hun Sen can save him,” Kao Soupha said.
Heng Pov’s praise for Hun Sen stands in stark contrast to previous public statements, including a 2006 interview with the French weekly L’Express in which he accused Hun Sen and former national police chief Hok Lundy of being behind the 1997 grenade attack on a Sam Rainsy Party rally and numerous other assassinations of opposition or political figures.
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Estimating maternal health
Irwin Loy and Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
A NEW global study has reported a “dramatic” drop in the rate of women who die during pregnancy and childbirth in Cambodia, potentially providing cause for optimism among health experts who have long been frustrated by a perceived lack of progress with respect to the problem.
The study, published in the medical journal The Lancet last week, suggests that rather than remaining stagnant, maternal mortality rates (MMR) have fallen significantly both in Cambodia and worldwide. But it appears to contradict current widely used domestic estimates, which suggest the Kingdom has made little statistical progress on reaching a key Millennium Development Goal (MDG).
The authors of the study concluded that there were 266 deaths for every 100,000 live births in Cambodia in 2008, far lower than the accepted rate.
The 2008 national census estimated the MMR at 461 per 100,000, the third-highest in the region.
The findings come as a surprise to some experts, who say they are encouraged by the results but remain cautious with regard to their validity.
“If it is true, then this is great news for all of us,” said Chan Theary, executive director of the Reproductive and Child Health Alliance.
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Phnom Penh Post
A NEW global study has reported a “dramatic” drop in the rate of women who die during pregnancy and childbirth in Cambodia, potentially providing cause for optimism among health experts who have long been frustrated by a perceived lack of progress with respect to the problem.
The study, published in the medical journal The Lancet last week, suggests that rather than remaining stagnant, maternal mortality rates (MMR) have fallen significantly both in Cambodia and worldwide. But it appears to contradict current widely used domestic estimates, which suggest the Kingdom has made little statistical progress on reaching a key Millennium Development Goal (MDG).
The authors of the study concluded that there were 266 deaths for every 100,000 live births in Cambodia in 2008, far lower than the accepted rate.
The 2008 national census estimated the MMR at 461 per 100,000, the third-highest in the region.
The findings come as a surprise to some experts, who say they are encouraged by the results but remain cautious with regard to their validity.
“If it is true, then this is great news for all of us,” said Chan Theary, executive director of the Reproductive and Child Health Alliance.
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New Year road crashes increase
Mom Kunthear and Tep Nimol
Phnom Penh Post
TRAFFIC officials said Sunday that the number of road accidents recorded during Khmer New Year increased compared to last year, but that the number of fatalities dipped slightly.
Him Yan, director of the Department of Public Order at the Interior Ministry, said there had been a total of 254 road accidents between April 13 and April 17, compared to 240 accidents in 2009. A total of 49 people died, down from 52 the previous year, he said.
“There were 49 people who died, 296 people who were seriously injured and 234 people who were lightly injured,” he said, adding that Battambang province saw the highest number of recorded casualties.
He said that, as in previous years, most of the accidents were caused by speeding, drunken driving and the presence of overloaded vehicles on the roads, and estimated that “40 percent of 50 percent” were caused by speeding young motorbike drivers.
Heng Chantheary, chief of the municipal Traffic Police, said there were five traffic accidents in the capital resulting in 12 injuries – three of them serious – and no deaths.
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Phnom Penh Post
TRAFFIC officials said Sunday that the number of road accidents recorded during Khmer New Year increased compared to last year, but that the number of fatalities dipped slightly.
Him Yan, director of the Department of Public Order at the Interior Ministry, said there had been a total of 254 road accidents between April 13 and April 17, compared to 240 accidents in 2009. A total of 49 people died, down from 52 the previous year, he said.
“There were 49 people who died, 296 people who were seriously injured and 234 people who were lightly injured,” he said, adding that Battambang province saw the highest number of recorded casualties.
He said that, as in previous years, most of the accidents were caused by speeding, drunken driving and the presence of overloaded vehicles on the roads, and estimated that “40 percent of 50 percent” were caused by speeding young motorbike drivers.
Heng Chantheary, chief of the municipal Traffic Police, said there were five traffic accidents in the capital resulting in 12 injuries – three of them serious – and no deaths.
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Risks loom for opposition media
Chhay Channyda and James O’toole
Phnom Penh Post
AS opposition publisher Hang Chakra prepares to resume publication of his newspaper next week, observers say he faces a media environment in which the place of opposition outlets has, if anything, grown more precarious during his time behind bars.
The publisher of the opposition-aligned Khmer Machas Srok newspaper received a Royal pardon earlier this month and was released last week from Prey Sar prison, where since June he had been serving a one-year sentence for disinformation. He had been charged under the UNTAC criminal code in connection with a series of articles that accused officials working under Deputy Prime Minister Sok An of corruption.
Though Hang Chakra has vowed to resume printing articles critical of government corruption once his paper is back up and running, other publishers say the stifling of pro-opposition media figures is on ongoing trend that is unlikely to be reversed in the near future.
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Phnom Penh Post
AS opposition publisher Hang Chakra prepares to resume publication of his newspaper next week, observers say he faces a media environment in which the place of opposition outlets has, if anything, grown more precarious during his time behind bars.
The publisher of the opposition-aligned Khmer Machas Srok newspaper received a Royal pardon earlier this month and was released last week from Prey Sar prison, where since June he had been serving a one-year sentence for disinformation. He had been charged under the UNTAC criminal code in connection with a series of articles that accused officials working under Deputy Prime Minister Sok An of corruption.
Though Hang Chakra has vowed to resume printing articles critical of government corruption once his paper is back up and running, other publishers say the stifling of pro-opposition media figures is on ongoing trend that is unlikely to be reversed in the near future.
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Five-legged pig kills gardener
Khouth Sophakchakrya
Phnom Penh Post
A PREY Veng province man who tried to chase a five-legged pig from his vegetable garden was killed on Thursday when the animal retaliated with lethal force, police said Monday.
Ton Tin, the police chief in Sithor Kandal district’s Phnau I commune, said the 13-year-old, 200-kilogram beast, which he said was notable for its “small fifth leg”, attacked 63-year-old Sean Sok, knocking him down with a blow to a kidney and then feasting on his stomach until he was dead.
“It is a very unusual case that I have never seen before,” he said.
“This is the year of the tiger, so why did the old man die from a pig bite?”
Monks and lay people from a local pagoda offered to kill the animal in retaliation, but the victim’s son, Sean Vireak, took matters into his own hands by inflicting a fatal electric shock on the swine.
“I killed it to avenge my father after the body of my father was cremated and his funeral concluded on Saturday,” Sean Vireak said, adding that the animal was an evil and notorious beast.
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Phnom Penh Post
A PREY Veng province man who tried to chase a five-legged pig from his vegetable garden was killed on Thursday when the animal retaliated with lethal force, police said Monday.
Ton Tin, the police chief in Sithor Kandal district’s Phnau I commune, said the 13-year-old, 200-kilogram beast, which he said was notable for its “small fifth leg”, attacked 63-year-old Sean Sok, knocking him down with a blow to a kidney and then feasting on his stomach until he was dead.
“It is a very unusual case that I have never seen before,” he said.
“This is the year of the tiger, so why did the old man die from a pig bite?”
Monks and lay people from a local pagoda offered to kill the animal in retaliation, but the victim’s son, Sean Vireak, took matters into his own hands by inflicting a fatal electric shock on the swine.
“I killed it to avenge my father after the body of my father was cremated and his funeral concluded on Saturday,” Sean Vireak said, adding that the animal was an evil and notorious beast.
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Suspect remains at large in KCham grenade attack
Chrann Chamroeun
Phnom Penh Post
A WOMAN who was injured in a grenade attack that killed her husband over the weekend in Kampong Cham province had her eye removed by doctors on Monday, as police continued to look for a suspect whom they declined to name.
The couple’s two daughters, ages 14 and 5, suffered slight injuries to their hands and were also receiving medical treatment Monday, said Suon Ros, the deputy district police chief of Prey Chhor district, where the attack occurred.
The incident unfolded on Saturday evening as 38-year-old Yun Siphan and his wife, 35-year-old Math Sreymin, were riding to their home with their two daughters on a motorbike.
As they approached the house, Yun Siphan stopped to remove a palm leaf that was lying in the road, at which point the perpetrator apparently threw a grenade at the motorbike, injuring Math Sreymin and the two girls.
When Yun Siphan rushed to help them, the assailant attacked him, chopping him in the neck and chest with a knife and killing him instantly.
Police said they believed the attack was premeditated and stemmed from a personal dispute between the victim and the suspect.
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Phnom Penh Post
A WOMAN who was injured in a grenade attack that killed her husband over the weekend in Kampong Cham province had her eye removed by doctors on Monday, as police continued to look for a suspect whom they declined to name.
The couple’s two daughters, ages 14 and 5, suffered slight injuries to their hands and were also receiving medical treatment Monday, said Suon Ros, the deputy district police chief of Prey Chhor district, where the attack occurred.
The incident unfolded on Saturday evening as 38-year-old Yun Siphan and his wife, 35-year-old Math Sreymin, were riding to their home with their two daughters on a motorbike.
As they approached the house, Yun Siphan stopped to remove a palm leaf that was lying in the road, at which point the perpetrator apparently threw a grenade at the motorbike, injuring Math Sreymin and the two girls.
When Yun Siphan rushed to help them, the assailant attacked him, chopping him in the neck and chest with a knife and killing him instantly.
Police said they believed the attack was premeditated and stemmed from a personal dispute between the victim and the suspect.
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Families seek pardon for ‘freedom fighters’
Vong Sokheng
Phnom Penh Post
THE families of five imprisoned members of the former antigovernment group known as the Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF) have reiterated their request that the government pardon the men, who were convicted of involvement in a series of attacks in November 2000.
Ven Dara, the 51-year-old wife of Hem Buntheoun, one of the imprisoned former CFF men, said Monday that she had sent pardon requests seven times to Prime Minister Hun Sen and King Norodom Sihamoni since 2000, but had never received a response.
“The last time I sent a request to King Norodom Sihamoni was in early October of last year, but it did not result in the granting of pardons for my husband and the other prisoners,” she said, adding that, in light of the new request, she hoped a pardon would be issued on Vesak Bochea Day later this month, one of four days on which pardons are traditionally granted.
Armed with AK-47s, grenades and B-40 rockets, members of the CFF attacked several government buildings on November 24, 2000, including the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces E70 Base in Choam Chao commune. Eight people were killed and at least 14 wounded in the attacks.
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Phnom Penh Post
THE families of five imprisoned members of the former antigovernment group known as the Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF) have reiterated their request that the government pardon the men, who were convicted of involvement in a series of attacks in November 2000.
Ven Dara, the 51-year-old wife of Hem Buntheoun, one of the imprisoned former CFF men, said Monday that she had sent pardon requests seven times to Prime Minister Hun Sen and King Norodom Sihamoni since 2000, but had never received a response.
“The last time I sent a request to King Norodom Sihamoni was in early October of last year, but it did not result in the granting of pardons for my husband and the other prisoners,” she said, adding that, in light of the new request, she hoped a pardon would be issued on Vesak Bochea Day later this month, one of four days on which pardons are traditionally granted.
Armed with AK-47s, grenades and B-40 rockets, members of the CFF attacked several government buildings on November 24, 2000, including the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces E70 Base in Choam Chao commune. Eight people were killed and at least 14 wounded in the attacks.
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SKorean marriage ban to be rescinded
Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
THE government is set to lift a ban imposed on marriages between Cambodian women and South Korean men, though no new rules or procedures concerning such unions have been established, an Interior Ministry official said Monday.
On March 5, Cambodia temporarily banned marriages between local women and South Korean men after a marriage broker was sentenced to 10 years in prison for recruiting 25 girls from rural areas and arranging for them to be married off to South Korean men. At the time, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said the ban would not be lifted until the government put in place a screening mechanism to prevent trafficking.
Chou Bun Eng, a secretary of state at the Interior Ministry, said Monday that the government would soon resume permitting marriages between Cambodian women and South Korean men, but that no new protocols had been put in place.
“We don’t have strong conditions for allowing marriages between Cambodian women and South Korean men. We just want them to respect the guidelines stipulated in sub-decree 183,” she said, referring to the sub-decree governing marriages between Cambodians and foreigners.
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Phnom Penh Post
THE government is set to lift a ban imposed on marriages between Cambodian women and South Korean men, though no new rules or procedures concerning such unions have been established, an Interior Ministry official said Monday.
On March 5, Cambodia temporarily banned marriages between local women and South Korean men after a marriage broker was sentenced to 10 years in prison for recruiting 25 girls from rural areas and arranging for them to be married off to South Korean men. At the time, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said the ban would not be lifted until the government put in place a screening mechanism to prevent trafficking.
Chou Bun Eng, a secretary of state at the Interior Ministry, said Monday that the government would soon resume permitting marriages between Cambodian women and South Korean men, but that no new protocols had been put in place.
“We don’t have strong conditions for allowing marriages between Cambodian women and South Korean men. We just want them to respect the guidelines stipulated in sub-decree 183,” she said, referring to the sub-decree governing marriages between Cambodians and foreigners.
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Acid attack victim expelled from High Star talent show
Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
A TALENT show star who was the victim of an acid attack late last year will not be able to compete in a finalists’ competition which begins next month because her scars are still too visible, the girl’s mother and one of the show’s organisers said Monday.
Soam Sichoun said her 16-year-old daughter, Hang Srey Leak, who was crowned one of the winners of TV9’s weekly talent show High Star in November 2009, has temporarily returned to Cambodia after being treated at a hospital in South Korea, but that she still has visible scars that will disqualify her from competing in the talent show.
“I plan to take my daughter back to the hospital in Korea at the end of this month for more treatment, and I will stay there for a year while my daughter receives treatment,” she said, adding that Hang Srey Leak has been treated in three hospitals since half a litre of acid was poured over her face, body and limbs as she stepped out of a Phnom Penh beauty salon in December of last year.
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Phnom Penh Post
A TALENT show star who was the victim of an acid attack late last year will not be able to compete in a finalists’ competition which begins next month because her scars are still too visible, the girl’s mother and one of the show’s organisers said Monday.
Soam Sichoun said her 16-year-old daughter, Hang Srey Leak, who was crowned one of the winners of TV9’s weekly talent show High Star in November 2009, has temporarily returned to Cambodia after being treated at a hospital in South Korea, but that she still has visible scars that will disqualify her from competing in the talent show.
“I plan to take my daughter back to the hospital in Korea at the end of this month for more treatment, and I will stay there for a year while my daughter receives treatment,” she said, adding that Hang Srey Leak has been treated in three hospitals since half a litre of acid was poured over her face, body and limbs as she stepped out of a Phnom Penh beauty salon in December of last year.
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Monday, April 12, 2010
Prisoner move eases overcrowding
Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
MORE than 50 inmates from an overcrowded Phnom Penh prison have been relocated to Pursat province’s Correctional Centre 4, a facility that last month introduced an agricultural training programme aimed at reducing recidivism, officials said Thursday.
Heng Hak, director general of the Department of Prisons at the Interior Ministry, said there are more than 700 inmates in Prey Sar Correctional Centre 1, and that prisoners are being relocated to less-crowded jails.
“The Prey Sar Correctional Centre 1 is now overcrowded; that’s why I am taking measures to move some of them to another prison,” he said.
Hin Sophal, chief of Correctional Centre 4, said that the 54 prisoners had arrived from Prey Sar on Wednesday.
“There are now 148 prisoners in CC4, and we are building a new centre in order to receive more prisoners,” he said, adding that he expects around 150 inmates to be relocated from other prisons once the new building is finished after Khmer New Year.
He said the prison, which was opened late last year as part of a broader effort to combat overcrowding, would eventually house about 2,500 prisoners on 846 hectares of land.
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Phnom Penh Post
MORE than 50 inmates from an overcrowded Phnom Penh prison have been relocated to Pursat province’s Correctional Centre 4, a facility that last month introduced an agricultural training programme aimed at reducing recidivism, officials said Thursday.
Heng Hak, director general of the Department of Prisons at the Interior Ministry, said there are more than 700 inmates in Prey Sar Correctional Centre 1, and that prisoners are being relocated to less-crowded jails.
“The Prey Sar Correctional Centre 1 is now overcrowded; that’s why I am taking measures to move some of them to another prison,” he said.
Hin Sophal, chief of Correctional Centre 4, said that the 54 prisoners had arrived from Prey Sar on Wednesday.
“There are now 148 prisoners in CC4, and we are building a new centre in order to receive more prisoners,” he said, adding that he expects around 150 inmates to be relocated from other prisons once the new building is finished after Khmer New Year.
He said the prison, which was opened late last year as part of a broader effort to combat overcrowding, would eventually house about 2,500 prisoners on 846 hectares of land.
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Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Insurance revenue lifts off
Nguon Sovan
Phnom Penh Post
INSURANCE premium revenue for the entire industry grew 19 percent in the first two months of this year and is forecast to grow around 20 percent for all of 2010, the Kingdom’s insurance association reported Tuesday.
Chhay Rattanak, chairman of the General Insurance Association of Cambodia (GIAC), told the Post on Tuesday that, according to figures provided by all of the country’s insurance firms, the industry’s premium revenues grew to US$3.8 million in January and February, up more than $600,000 from the same period last year.
Premium revenues grew 11 percent for insurance on automobiles, 10 percent for fire and 16 percent for personal accident, Chhay Rattanak said. Revenues dropped 22 percent for maritime insurance and 48 percent for worker compensation.
“We saw good recovery in almost all businesses,” he said. “And there have not been any dramatic changes in claims trends in the first two months.”
Chhay Rattanak estimated that for the first quarter, the market would grow up to 20 percent, with 20 percent growth to continue throughout the year.
Larger insurers said Tuesday they had seen double-digit climbs in quarterly premium revenue.
“We have increased by 20 percent in premium revenues so far,” said David W Carter, CEO of Infinity General Insurance Plc, declining to disclose premium levels. “This is in line with our budget forecast, and we expect to achieve this trend for the rest of the year.”
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Phnom Penh Post
INSURANCE premium revenue for the entire industry grew 19 percent in the first two months of this year and is forecast to grow around 20 percent for all of 2010, the Kingdom’s insurance association reported Tuesday.
Chhay Rattanak, chairman of the General Insurance Association of Cambodia (GIAC), told the Post on Tuesday that, according to figures provided by all of the country’s insurance firms, the industry’s premium revenues grew to US$3.8 million in January and February, up more than $600,000 from the same period last year.
Premium revenues grew 11 percent for insurance on automobiles, 10 percent for fire and 16 percent for personal accident, Chhay Rattanak said. Revenues dropped 22 percent for maritime insurance and 48 percent for worker compensation.
“We saw good recovery in almost all businesses,” he said. “And there have not been any dramatic changes in claims trends in the first two months.”
Chhay Rattanak estimated that for the first quarter, the market would grow up to 20 percent, with 20 percent growth to continue throughout the year.
Larger insurers said Tuesday they had seen double-digit climbs in quarterly premium revenue.
“We have increased by 20 percent in premium revenues so far,” said David W Carter, CEO of Infinity General Insurance Plc, declining to disclose premium levels. “This is in line with our budget forecast, and we expect to achieve this trend for the rest of the year.”
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New film delves into history and practice of bokator
Sorn Sunsopheak
Phnom Penh Post
Phnom Penh
A DOCUMENTARY film on the ancient Khmer martial art bokator, formally known as labokator, will be screened tonight at the French Cultural Centre (CCF) in Phnom Penh.
The 50-minute film, titled Une Breve Histoire du Boxkator (A Brief History of Bokator), was directed by Daniel Perrier, a French artist and instructor at the School of Fine Arts in Nantes.
Perrier shot footage for the documentary during a previous visit to Phnom Penh, and now he is back for an extended stay to take part in a series of art projects at CCF.
The artist said he became interested in bokator after he met San Kimsean, a coach of the martial art, in August 2008. The more Perrier learned about bokator from the coach, the more intrigued he became.
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Phnom Penh Post
Phnom Penh
A DOCUMENTARY film on the ancient Khmer martial art bokator, formally known as labokator, will be screened tonight at the French Cultural Centre (CCF) in Phnom Penh.
The 50-minute film, titled Une Breve Histoire du Boxkator (A Brief History of Bokator), was directed by Daniel Perrier, a French artist and instructor at the School of Fine Arts in Nantes.
Perrier shot footage for the documentary during a previous visit to Phnom Penh, and now he is back for an extended stay to take part in a series of art projects at CCF.
The artist said he became interested in bokator after he met San Kimsean, a coach of the martial art, in August 2008. The more Perrier learned about bokator from the coach, the more intrigued he became.
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Trio freed after striking deal with reporter
Kim Yuthana
Phnom Penh Post
A BANTEAY Meanchey Provincial Court prosecutor has dropped charges against three people who allegedly injured a reporter while he was researching a story on illicit gambling, after the accused agreed to pay an unspecified amount of compensation and apologise publicly to the victim, court officials said Tuesday.
“We dropped the charges against the three people after reaching a mutual reconciliation between the victim and Vong Tho, a reporter for Rasmey Kampuchea newspaper in Banteay Meanchey province, and the three accused on April 1,” court prosecutor Tan Seyhak Dechak said.
“I followed the request from the plaintiff and defendants after they reached a reconciliation and asked me to lift the charges against the three suspects and free them before the Khmer New Year celebration,” he added.
On March 1, as he was researching an article about illegal gambling in Poipet commune’s Kbal Spean village, Vong Tho was confronted and allegedly beaten by Nging Trem, 49; his son, Lim Hy, 16; and his wife, 48-year-old Lim Lang.
The reporter has said that Nging Trem was operating a gambling ring in the area and wanted to prevent the story from being made public.
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Phnom Penh Post
A BANTEAY Meanchey Provincial Court prosecutor has dropped charges against three people who allegedly injured a reporter while he was researching a story on illicit gambling, after the accused agreed to pay an unspecified amount of compensation and apologise publicly to the victim, court officials said Tuesday.
“We dropped the charges against the three people after reaching a mutual reconciliation between the victim and Vong Tho, a reporter for Rasmey Kampuchea newspaper in Banteay Meanchey province, and the three accused on April 1,” court prosecutor Tan Seyhak Dechak said.
“I followed the request from the plaintiff and defendants after they reached a reconciliation and asked me to lift the charges against the three suspects and free them before the Khmer New Year celebration,” he added.
On March 1, as he was researching an article about illegal gambling in Poipet commune’s Kbal Spean village, Vong Tho was confronted and allegedly beaten by Nging Trem, 49; his son, Lim Hy, 16; and his wife, 48-year-old Lim Lang.
The reporter has said that Nging Trem was operating a gambling ring in the area and wanted to prevent the story from being made public.
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Hun Sen fires forestry director
Cheang Sokha and Chhay Channyda
Phnom Penh Post
PRIME Minister Hun Sen announced Tuesday that Ty Sokun, director of the Forestry Administration, has been removed from his post for failing to successfully crack down on illegal logging.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), the premier said Ty Sokun had taken insufficiently swift action against logging offenders across the Kingdom.
“I think Ty Sokun has no more ability to resolve this issue. I’m beginning to despair ... [so] it is time to remove,” Hun Sen told an audience of several hundred government officials.
“If he is not removed, Ty Sokun would work until he died and still not resolve this problem. Ty Sokun, don’t feel disappointed – consider this a life lesson and try to work harder,” Hun Sen added.
Ty Sokun will be moved to the position of undersecretary of state at the MAFF, Hun Sen said, replaced as Forestry Administration director by his current deputy, Cheng Kimsun.
Ty Sokun said Tuesday that the chances for success in his former position had been limited, and that many illegal loggers have connections to rich men and high-ranking officials who threaten forestry officers.
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Phnom Penh Post
PRIME Minister Hun Sen announced Tuesday that Ty Sokun, director of the Forestry Administration, has been removed from his post for failing to successfully crack down on illegal logging.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), the premier said Ty Sokun had taken insufficiently swift action against logging offenders across the Kingdom.
“I think Ty Sokun has no more ability to resolve this issue. I’m beginning to despair ... [so] it is time to remove,” Hun Sen told an audience of several hundred government officials.
“If he is not removed, Ty Sokun would work until he died and still not resolve this problem. Ty Sokun, don’t feel disappointed – consider this a life lesson and try to work harder,” Hun Sen added.
Ty Sokun will be moved to the position of undersecretary of state at the MAFF, Hun Sen said, replaced as Forestry Administration director by his current deputy, Cheng Kimsun.
Ty Sokun said Tuesday that the chances for success in his former position had been limited, and that many illegal loggers have connections to rich men and high-ranking officials who threaten forestry officers.
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More fish killed near Kandal ethanol plant
Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
FOR the second time in a month, officials have launched an investigation after several tonnes of farmed fish were found dead near a Kandal province village roughly one kilometre away from a bioethanol plant that was briefly shut last year over environmental concerns.
Villagers in Ponhea Leu district’s Prek Phnov commune estimate that roughly 26 tonnes of farmed fish were found dead Monday morning.
The die-off came less than a month after 54 tonnes of fish were reported lost in a mass kill that some blamed on the plant, which is owned by the Korean group MH Bio-Energy.
Officials, however, have yet to point fingers in the most recent case, saying tests must be done on water samples first.
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Phnom Penh Post
FOR the second time in a month, officials have launched an investigation after several tonnes of farmed fish were found dead near a Kandal province village roughly one kilometre away from a bioethanol plant that was briefly shut last year over environmental concerns.
Villagers in Ponhea Leu district’s Prek Phnov commune estimate that roughly 26 tonnes of farmed fish were found dead Monday morning.
The die-off came less than a month after 54 tonnes of fish were reported lost in a mass kill that some blamed on the plant, which is owned by the Korean group MH Bio-Energy.
Officials, however, have yet to point fingers in the most recent case, saying tests must be done on water samples first.
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Tuesday, April 6, 2010
CAMBODIA - Young photographer ‘meets God’ snapping old church
PHNOM PENH (UCAN) — The 1970s was a very difficult time for the Church and Cambodia. As a result of the civil war and the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror, many priests and Church workers were killed and churches confiscated for other uses.
One such church in Phnom Penh is now a residential building housing around 80 people. The only clue it used to be a church is the cross that still stands on its roof.
The church was rediscovered thanks to the efforts of a young Catholic photographer, who put together a photo documentary of the building and its environs in its current state.
Defections: Opposition members join CPP
Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
Defections
More than 200 members of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, Human Rights Party and Nationalist Party defected to the Cambodian People’s Party in Kratie province over the weekend, Kratie town Governor Che Samat said Monday. He said 227 SRP members and 17 others from the HRP and Nationalist Party – formerly the Norodom Ranariddh Party – voluntarily joined the CPP. “We did not force them or threaten them or give them money in order to make them join with us,” he said. Long Ry, an SRP lawmaker for Kratie province, said, however, that the officials were expelled for misconduct during last year’s provincial council elections. “We found that they received bribes and did not vote for the SRP, so we kicked them out,” he said.
Phnom Penh Post
Defections
More than 200 members of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, Human Rights Party and Nationalist Party defected to the Cambodian People’s Party in Kratie province over the weekend, Kratie town Governor Che Samat said Monday. He said 227 SRP members and 17 others from the HRP and Nationalist Party – formerly the Norodom Ranariddh Party – voluntarily joined the CPP. “We did not force them or threaten them or give them money in order to make them join with us,” he said. Long Ry, an SRP lawmaker for Kratie province, said, however, that the officials were expelled for misconduct during last year’s provincial council elections. “We found that they received bribes and did not vote for the SRP, so we kicked them out,” he said.
Men report assault by border police
Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
THE father of a man who claims to have been beaten by Cambodian border police while returning to Banteay Meanchey province from his job in Thailand has filed a complaint with the local rights group Adhoc demanding 10 million riels (US$2,389) in compensation.
Vann David, 19, and Hun Mun, 33, were making their way home to Poipet on Friday when they were accosted by seven border officers who accused them of walking along a “prohibited road”, said Khem Savan, the father of Vann David.
Khem Savan said the soldiers then beat both men, knocking his son unconscious.
Soum Chankea, the provincial coordinator for Adhoc, said he had received the complaint, filed Saturday, and that he planned to send it along to the provincial court.
Chhuk Ang, the commander of the unit to which the two accused officers belong, said they had not beaten either man but had merely warned them against walking along the road, which he said was blocked off because of land mines.
Phnom Penh Post
THE father of a man who claims to have been beaten by Cambodian border police while returning to Banteay Meanchey province from his job in Thailand has filed a complaint with the local rights group Adhoc demanding 10 million riels (US$2,389) in compensation.
Vann David, 19, and Hun Mun, 33, were making their way home to Poipet on Friday when they were accosted by seven border officers who accused them of walking along a “prohibited road”, said Khem Savan, the father of Vann David.
Khem Savan said the soldiers then beat both men, knocking his son unconscious.
Soum Chankea, the provincial coordinator for Adhoc, said he had received the complaint, filed Saturday, and that he planned to send it along to the provincial court.
Chhuk Ang, the commander of the unit to which the two accused officers belong, said they had not beaten either man but had merely warned them against walking along the road, which he said was blocked off because of land mines.
Royalist parties to merge this month: official
Tep Nimol
Phnom Penh Post
THE Kingdom’s estranged royalist parties will form an alliance later this month in a preliminary move towards reuniting ahead of elections scheduled for 2012 and 2013, party officials said.
Funcinpec Secretary General Nhek Bun Chhay said members of the boards of his party and the Nationalist Party (NP) had reviewed and approved an agreement Saturday, and would seal the alliance in a ceremony after the Khmer New Year holiday.
“We want to sign this agreement to create a Funcinpec-Nationalist alliance as soon as possible to boost our votes in the 2012 commune election and 2013 general election,” he said.
Nhek Bun Chhay said that by 2012, the two parties would register together under the Funcinpec name, adding that the parties had entered a “transitional period” in which the NP could inform members about the merger.
Pen Sangha, spokesman for the NP – as the former Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) is now known – said the future allies had not agreed on the name for the new party, but confirmed a merger would be forthcoming.
“The separation of the two parties has not given any good results for us, so we want to unite,” he said.
Both parties hope that the alliance will help reverse the slide in royalist fortunes since Funcinpec split along factional lines in 2006. At that time, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the party’s then-president, was expelled after being convicted of embezzling funds from the sale of the party’s former headquarters in Phnom Penh.
In the 2008 national election, Funcinpec and the NRP both fared poorly, winning a total of five seats in the 123-seat National Assembly.
Koul Panha, executive directive of election monitor Comfrel, agreed that a merger would bring both parties a greater share of the vote in future elections. But he warned that the reunified party should be careful to avoid the rivalries that led to the 2006 royalist split.
“The separation can make supporters feel disappointed and is a waste of resources that could be used to campaign for votes,” he said.
Phnom Penh Post
THE Kingdom’s estranged royalist parties will form an alliance later this month in a preliminary move towards reuniting ahead of elections scheduled for 2012 and 2013, party officials said.
Funcinpec Secretary General Nhek Bun Chhay said members of the boards of his party and the Nationalist Party (NP) had reviewed and approved an agreement Saturday, and would seal the alliance in a ceremony after the Khmer New Year holiday.
“We want to sign this agreement to create a Funcinpec-Nationalist alliance as soon as possible to boost our votes in the 2012 commune election and 2013 general election,” he said.
Nhek Bun Chhay said that by 2012, the two parties would register together under the Funcinpec name, adding that the parties had entered a “transitional period” in which the NP could inform members about the merger.
Pen Sangha, spokesman for the NP – as the former Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) is now known – said the future allies had not agreed on the name for the new party, but confirmed a merger would be forthcoming.
“The separation of the two parties has not given any good results for us, so we want to unite,” he said.
Both parties hope that the alliance will help reverse the slide in royalist fortunes since Funcinpec split along factional lines in 2006. At that time, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the party’s then-president, was expelled after being convicted of embezzling funds from the sale of the party’s former headquarters in Phnom Penh.
In the 2008 national election, Funcinpec and the NRP both fared poorly, winning a total of five seats in the 123-seat National Assembly.
Koul Panha, executive directive of election monitor Comfrel, agreed that a merger would bring both parties a greater share of the vote in future elections. But he warned that the reunified party should be careful to avoid the rivalries that led to the 2006 royalist split.
“The separation can make supporters feel disappointed and is a waste of resources that could be used to campaign for votes,” he said.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Ink drawings depict ‘innocence’ of youth
Jet Odrerir
Phnom Penh Post
INNOCENCE is the name of an exhibition of drawings currently showing at Java Arts Café, consisting of a collection of portraits in ink and coloured pencil by local artist Qudy Xu.
The drawings, made over the past six months, mostly show children’s faces exuding expression and emotion.
Xu said the idea for the drawings came about when an art dealer saw the artist’s earlier works at a show at Hotel de la Paix in Siem Reap. The dealer, impressed by how Xu portrayed faces, suggested that she do a series of drawings on the subject.
Xu said she started the project with a number of study sketches to experiment with the expressions she wanted to capture as well as different lighting angles. The sketches are also part of the show.
“I have always loved drawing people,” Xu said. “The expressiveness of the eyes and hands are what I wanted to focus on.”
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Phnom Penh Post
INNOCENCE is the name of an exhibition of drawings currently showing at Java Arts Café, consisting of a collection of portraits in ink and coloured pencil by local artist Qudy Xu.
The drawings, made over the past six months, mostly show children’s faces exuding expression and emotion.
Xu said the idea for the drawings came about when an art dealer saw the artist’s earlier works at a show at Hotel de la Paix in Siem Reap. The dealer, impressed by how Xu portrayed faces, suggested that she do a series of drawings on the subject.
Xu said she started the project with a number of study sketches to experiment with the expressions she wanted to capture as well as different lighting angles. The sketches are also part of the show.
“I have always loved drawing people,” Xu said. “The expressiveness of the eyes and hands are what I wanted to focus on.”
Read More
Ching Ming holiday draws crowds to family gravesites
Chheng Sambo and Ngo Menghak
Phnom Penh Post
ABOUT two kilometres outside the village of Kambol in Kandal province, down a dusty road and past the gate of Taphem Pagoda, is a rice field off to the right-hand side with what appear to be mounds of earth in the middle.
Most of the time these mounds are lonely and silent, but in late March every year they become the centre of attention for members of the local Cambodian-Chinese community.
During this period, small groups of people can be seen gathered around the mounds. Some of them use tools like hoes, shovels and sickles to clear the weeds away, while others attach colourful strips of paper to the newly exposed earth. Invariably, the smell of incense floats on the air.
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Phnom Penh Post
ABOUT two kilometres outside the village of Kambol in Kandal province, down a dusty road and past the gate of Taphem Pagoda, is a rice field off to the right-hand side with what appear to be mounds of earth in the middle.
Most of the time these mounds are lonely and silent, but in late March every year they become the centre of attention for members of the local Cambodian-Chinese community.
During this period, small groups of people can be seen gathered around the mounds. Some of them use tools like hoes, shovels and sickles to clear the weeds away, while others attach colourful strips of paper to the newly exposed earth. Invariably, the smell of incense floats on the air.
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Adhoc halts ECCC outreach as programme’s funding dwindles
Thet Sambath
Phnom Penh Post
A LEGAL assistance programme run by local rights group Adhoc for victims of the Khmer Rouge has been suspended due to lack of funding, Adhoc representatives said Sunday.
Adhoc’s Khmer Rouge Trials and International Criminal Court Programme had been working since 2007 to monitor the Khmer Rouge tribunal, increase awareness of the trials and register civil party applicants. As of the end of March, however, the initiative does not have the funds to continue, project coordinator Latt Ky said.
“I am very worried that there is no one to donate funds to our project,” Latt Ky said. “If funds are not given, the victims ... will not have the ability to
understand the court’s procedure.”
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Phnom Penh Post
A LEGAL assistance programme run by local rights group Adhoc for victims of the Khmer Rouge has been suspended due to lack of funding, Adhoc representatives said Sunday.
Adhoc’s Khmer Rouge Trials and International Criminal Court Programme had been working since 2007 to monitor the Khmer Rouge tribunal, increase awareness of the trials and register civil party applicants. As of the end of March, however, the initiative does not have the funds to continue, project coordinator Latt Ky said.
“I am very worried that there is no one to donate funds to our project,” Latt Ky said. “If funds are not given, the victims ... will not have the ability to
understand the court’s procedure.”
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Study tallies costs of crashes
Chhay Channyda
Phnom Penh Post
TRAFFIC accidents cost Cambodia US$248 million dollars last year in property damage, medical costs and other areas, marking a 114 percent rise since 2003, according to a new study by NGO Handicap International Belgium.
“This is a huge amount that Cambodia lost while the government and all people are working hard to reduce poverty,” Touch Chankosal, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said at the launch of the report on Friday. “It is so sad that $248 million was lost to preventable road crashes.... It means that we still could not reduce the economic impact of road crashes to the national economy.”
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Phnom Penh Post
TRAFFIC accidents cost Cambodia US$248 million dollars last year in property damage, medical costs and other areas, marking a 114 percent rise since 2003, according to a new study by NGO Handicap International Belgium.
“This is a huge amount that Cambodia lost while the government and all people are working hard to reduce poverty,” Touch Chankosal, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said at the launch of the report on Friday. “It is so sad that $248 million was lost to preventable road crashes.... It means that we still could not reduce the economic impact of road crashes to the national economy.”
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Photo exhibit marks PM’s birthday
Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
NEARLY 200 photos of Prime Minister Hun Sen have been put on display by the Cambodian Photographers Association (CPA) to mark the premier’s 59th birthday, the group said Sunday, as King Father Norodom Sihanouk issued a statement praising “the nonstop and continued night-and-day progress of the nation and the Cambodian people”.
Keo Nuon, secretary general of the Cambodian Photographers Association and a former reporter for Agence Kampuchea Presse, the government press agency, said Sunday that the photos, which chronicle the premier’s life and career since 1978, will be displayed at Wat Phnom Museum until April 9.
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Phnom Penh Post
NEARLY 200 photos of Prime Minister Hun Sen have been put on display by the Cambodian Photographers Association (CPA) to mark the premier’s 59th birthday, the group said Sunday, as King Father Norodom Sihanouk issued a statement praising “the nonstop and continued night-and-day progress of the nation and the Cambodian people”.
Keo Nuon, secretary general of the Cambodian Photographers Association and a former reporter for Agence Kampuchea Presse, the government press agency, said Sunday that the photos, which chronicle the premier’s life and career since 1978, will be displayed at Wat Phnom Museum until April 9.
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Sunday, April 4, 2010
Bassac Children aim to preserve traditional arts
Ou Mom
Phnom Penh Post
AT the beginning of March the Children of Bassac traditional Khmer dance troupe closed out the two-week National Drama and Arts Festival with an invitation-only performance at the National Museum in Phnom Penh.
The troupe is now performing for the public at the same venue, with the second of two shows scheduled for tonight at 7pm. The shows serve as a preview to the weekly performance season in November and December.
The Children of Bassac troupe was formed in 2003 by traditional theatre singer Ieng Sithol under the name Cultural Economic Association for Orphans and Poor Children. He renamed the group earlier this year to remind people of its origins in the Bassac community in Phnom Penh where the performers – a company of dancers aged 16 to 21 – still live and rehearse.
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Phnom Penh Post
AT the beginning of March the Children of Bassac traditional Khmer dance troupe closed out the two-week National Drama and Arts Festival with an invitation-only performance at the National Museum in Phnom Penh.
The troupe is now performing for the public at the same venue, with the second of two shows scheduled for tonight at 7pm. The shows serve as a preview to the weekly performance season in November and December.
The Children of Bassac troupe was formed in 2003 by traditional theatre singer Ieng Sithol under the name Cultural Economic Association for Orphans and Poor Children. He renamed the group earlier this year to remind people of its origins in the Bassac community in Phnom Penh where the performers – a company of dancers aged 16 to 21 – still live and rehearse.
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Yeak Loam musicians perform in Phnom Penh
Douglas Long
Phnom Penh Post
Yeak Loam Lake in Rattanakiri province is a place of eerie beauty: Nestled in the circular crater of an extinct volcano, the water is crystal-clear and surrounded by lush, semi-deciduous forestland.
Around the lake are five villages – Lapoe, Lon, Sil, Chree and Phnom – that are home to the Tampuen, a minority group who hold animistic beliefs and who consider the lake and forests to be inhabited by powerful spirits.
The area’s beauty has proven to be a blessing as well as a curse. In 2007, members of the Tampuen community formed the Yeak Loam Arts Group with the aim of preserving the region’s traditional music, dance and culture in the face of encroachments on indigenous lifestyles from outsiders seeking to buy up and develop land around the lake.
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Phnom Penh Post
Yeak Loam Lake in Rattanakiri province is a place of eerie beauty: Nestled in the circular crater of an extinct volcano, the water is crystal-clear and surrounded by lush, semi-deciduous forestland.
Around the lake are five villages – Lapoe, Lon, Sil, Chree and Phnom – that are home to the Tampuen, a minority group who hold animistic beliefs and who consider the lake and forests to be inhabited by powerful spirits.
The area’s beauty has proven to be a blessing as well as a curse. In 2007, members of the Tampuen community formed the Yeak Loam Arts Group with the aim of preserving the region’s traditional music, dance and culture in the face of encroachments on indigenous lifestyles from outsiders seeking to buy up and develop land around the lake.
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Fire victims reject relocation
Vong Sokheng
Phnom Penh Post
AT LEAST 62 families who lost their homes during the Boeung Kak 2 commune fire in Tuol Kork district last month have rejected an offer to relocate to land on the outskirts of Phnom Penh in Dangkor district, local authorities said Wednesday.
District officials have said that an electrical fire in a resident’s home sparked the March 8 blaze, which destroyed 178 homes as well as 31 dormitory rooms in Neak Von pagoda, leaving 257 families, 181 students and 90 monks homeless.
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Phnom Penh Post
AT LEAST 62 families who lost their homes during the Boeung Kak 2 commune fire in Tuol Kork district last month have rejected an offer to relocate to land on the outskirts of Phnom Penh in Dangkor district, local authorities said Wednesday.
District officials have said that an electrical fire in a resident’s home sparked the March 8 blaze, which destroyed 178 homes as well as 31 dormitory rooms in Neak Von pagoda, leaving 257 families, 181 students and 90 monks homeless.
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Pop singer files court complaint
Tep Nimol
Phnom Penh Post
CELEBRITY songstress Sok Pisey has filed a complaint with the Phnom Penh Municipal Police after a pornographic video that features her name in its titles spread throughout the Kingdom.
Sok Pisey, a favourite pop star among Cambodian youths, said the video’s producers had used her name without authorisation, adding that the actress in the video bore no resemblance to her.
“I would never get involved in such an immoral endeavour. Out of 100 percent, the actress in the video looks only 1 or 2 percent like me,” Sok Pisey said Thursday.
The singer added that she had submitted her complaint with the anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection bureau of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police on Monday, and was seeking US$50,000 in compensation from the “anonymous, ignorant” filmmakers responsible for the video.
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Phnom Penh Post
CELEBRITY songstress Sok Pisey has filed a complaint with the Phnom Penh Municipal Police after a pornographic video that features her name in its titles spread throughout the Kingdom.
Sok Pisey, a favourite pop star among Cambodian youths, said the video’s producers had used her name without authorisation, adding that the actress in the video bore no resemblance to her.
“I would never get involved in such an immoral endeavour. Out of 100 percent, the actress in the video looks only 1 or 2 percent like me,” Sok Pisey said Thursday.
The singer added that she had submitted her complaint with the anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection bureau of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police on Monday, and was seeking US$50,000 in compensation from the “anonymous, ignorant” filmmakers responsible for the video.
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Govt urged to ban tobacco ads
Chhay Channyda and Brooke Lewis
Phnom Penh Post
HEALTH experts on Thursday warned that the government is in danger of missing an internationally mandated deadline to ban tobacco advertising.
The deadline is mandated by Article 13 of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to which Cambodia is a party, and must come into effect by February 2011, officials from the WHO and the NGO Cambodian Movement for Health said at a joint press conference.
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Phnom Penh Post
HEALTH experts on Thursday warned that the government is in danger of missing an internationally mandated deadline to ban tobacco advertising.
The deadline is mandated by Article 13 of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to which Cambodia is a party, and must come into effect by February 2011, officials from the WHO and the NGO Cambodian Movement for Health said at a joint press conference.
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Cholera caused Kratie deaths
Mom Kunthear and Brooke Lewis
Phnom Penh Post
LABORATORY tests have confirmed that five people who died of severe vomiting and diarrhoea in Kratie province last month had contracted cholera, according to a health official who declined to provide further information on the number of cholera cases reported nationwide for fear it would impact tourism.
Ly Sovann, deputy director of the Communicable Diseases Control Department at the Ministry of Health, said Wednesday that the five deaths were the result of “acute watery diarrhoea caused by Vibrio cholerae”, a reference to the bacterium that causes cholera.
Asked if there were other reported cases of cholera in Kratie or elsewhere, Ly Sovann said, “I cannot make the data of the cholera cases public because we are afraid the data will hit profits in our country.” He went on to say that he was particularly concerned about how news of cholera cases might affect the Kingdom’s tourism sector.
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Phnom Penh Post
LABORATORY tests have confirmed that five people who died of severe vomiting and diarrhoea in Kratie province last month had contracted cholera, according to a health official who declined to provide further information on the number of cholera cases reported nationwide for fear it would impact tourism.
Ly Sovann, deputy director of the Communicable Diseases Control Department at the Ministry of Health, said Wednesday that the five deaths were the result of “acute watery diarrhoea caused by Vibrio cholerae”, a reference to the bacterium that causes cholera.
Asked if there were other reported cases of cholera in Kratie or elsewhere, Ly Sovann said, “I cannot make the data of the cholera cases public because we are afraid the data will hit profits in our country.” He went on to say that he was particularly concerned about how news of cholera cases might affect the Kingdom’s tourism sector.
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Beauty salon licencing drive follows skin cream fatality
Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
BEAUTY salons in Phnom Penh will soon have to be licenced in order to operate, health officials said Tuesday, adding that they will begin checking next week whether local parlours have the proper documents.
The move comes after the death earlier this month of a Banteay Meanchey province woman who suffered a fatal reaction to skin-whitening cream, and also follows a stern warning from Prime Minister Hun Sen over the use of unsafe cosmetic products.
Heng Bun Keat, director of the Ministry of Health’s Food and Drug Department, said he had received a letter from ministry officials Tuesday empowering his department to oversee the licencing of all beauty salons in Phnom Penh, but that a deadline has yet to be set.
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Phnom Penh Post
BEAUTY salons in Phnom Penh will soon have to be licenced in order to operate, health officials said Tuesday, adding that they will begin checking next week whether local parlours have the proper documents.
The move comes after the death earlier this month of a Banteay Meanchey province woman who suffered a fatal reaction to skin-whitening cream, and also follows a stern warning from Prime Minister Hun Sen over the use of unsafe cosmetic products.
Heng Bun Keat, director of the Ministry of Health’s Food and Drug Department, said he had received a letter from ministry officials Tuesday empowering his department to oversee the licencing of all beauty salons in Phnom Penh, but that a deadline has yet to be set.
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Officials warn of lightning strikes
Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post
LIGHTNING strikes, which killed 140 people last year, claimed three lives through the first three months of 2010, including one on Wednesday, as officials said they were bracing for a sharp uptick in strikes as the rainy season approaches.
Keo Vy, a communications officer with the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), said two of the lightning deaths recorded so far this year took place in Pursat province – one in Kravanh district in February, and one in Bakan district last month. In addition, he said, a five cattle have been killed by lightning so far this year.
Banteay Meanchey provincial police chief Hun Hean said 34-year-old Bun Bros of Poipet town was killed in a lightning strike on Wednesday.
Keo Vy said he could not provide a figure for deaths through the first three months of 2009, but noted that 50 people were killed by lightning through last April, and added that many of those deaths had occurred after the onset of the rainy season in April.
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Phnom Penh Post
LIGHTNING strikes, which killed 140 people last year, claimed three lives through the first three months of 2010, including one on Wednesday, as officials said they were bracing for a sharp uptick in strikes as the rainy season approaches.
Keo Vy, a communications officer with the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), said two of the lightning deaths recorded so far this year took place in Pursat province – one in Kravanh district in February, and one in Bakan district last month. In addition, he said, a five cattle have been killed by lightning so far this year.
Banteay Meanchey provincial police chief Hun Hean said 34-year-old Bun Bros of Poipet town was killed in a lightning strike on Wednesday.
Keo Vy said he could not provide a figure for deaths through the first three months of 2009, but noted that 50 people were killed by lightning through last April, and added that many of those deaths had occurred after the onset of the rainy season in April.
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