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The restoration team from the Department of Conservation of Monuments and Preventive Archaeology of the APSARA National Authority is restoring the Naga balustrade on the ground floor in the south of Angkor Wat to avoid high risk. Archaeologist of the Department of Temple Preservation and Archaeology, Say Sophearin, said that the Naga balustrade and sandstone pedestals of Angkor Wat at the southern staircase are nearly a thousand years old. About 10 meters long, there is a high risk that some spots have broken stones and their foundations have been washed away by the rain, causing large stones to separate, making it very prone to the collapse of the Naga head. He said that since the beginning of July, the team has temporarily dismantled the Naga balustrade, after the approval of Adhoc experts, and from the beginning of August, the team began to dismantle the staircase platform to remove the cracked stones, clean them, and put them back in their original position. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501347257/experts-restore-the-naga-balustrade-at-the-southern-ground-floor-of-angkor-wat/

Acleda Bank Plc plans to expand the KHQR system to non-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, said a senior bank official. The official said that the plan will actually be implemented after the cross-border payment connectivity is made between Cambodia and Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. The cross-payments between Cambodia and these countries have been made without charging fees, except for the Cambodia-Laos transactions. Mar Amara, Senior Executive Vice President & Group Chief Financial Officer of Acleda Bank, told Khmer Times last Sunday that the sponsoring bank Acleda Bank plans to develop cross-border payment transactions using the KHQR code between Cambodia and India, Japan and South Korea. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501347404/acleda-bank-to-expand-khqr-beyond-asean/

Cambodia’s parliament has overwhelmingly elected Hun Manet to succeed his father, longtime autocratic ruler Hun Sen, as the country’s prime minister. The selection of the 45-year-old Hun Manet as Cambodia’s new leader comes just weeks after his father announced he would be stepping aside after nearly four decades in power, prompted by the landslide victory of his ruling Cambodian People’s Party in parliamentary elections. The election was denounced by Western governments and human rights groups as a sham because the main opposition party was banned from taking part. Hun Manet won a parliamentary seat as a member of the CPP. A graduate of the U.S.-based West Point Military Academy, Hun Manet has served for years in Cambodia’s military, holding various posts, such as head of counterterrorism, deputy military commander and army chief. He also holds a master’s degree from New York University and a doctorate from Bristol University in Britain, all in economics. The generational change of power will also be reflected in Hun Manet’s Cabinet, with several members being the children or relatives of ministers who served under Hun Sen. The new ministers will include Hun Manet’s youngest brother, Hun Many, who will serve as minister of civil service. The 71-year-old Hun Sen is a former member of Cambodia’s notorious Khmer Rouge, which has been blamed for the deaths of nearly 2 million people from starvation, illness and executions during its brutal reign in the 1970s. He has gradually eliminated political opposition and independent press during his 38-year rule, while also moving Cambodia to greater economic and military ties with China during his reign. He says he will continue to play an active role in Cambodian politics, including serving as president of the Senate and leader of the CPP. https://www.voanews.com/a/son-of-longtime-cambodian-ruler-chosen-to-succeed-father-as-new-prime-minister/7234934.html

But analysts and opposition figures doubt they will heed his advice. In an opening speech to Cambodia’s newly elected parliament on Monday, King Norodom Sihamoni called on lawmakers and the government to reconcile their deep divisions, though political commentators and opposition officials say the effort will amount to naught. The July 23 elections, won by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party in a landslide, have been widely criticized by Western governments and opposition activists within the country because authorities kept the main opposition Candlelight Party from participating on a technicality. Three days after the election, Prime Minister Hun Sen – who has ruled the country since 1985 – announced he would step down and hand power to his eldest son, army chief Hun Manet. The king, who has served as the head of the country’s constitutional monarchy since October 2004, issued a royal message calling on members of the National Assembly and the government to forge national reconciliation and adhere to the four Brahmanical principles of Buddhism. Norodom Sihamoni said he expected the new government to win the trust of the National Assembly to develop and strengthen the comprehensive social protection system for Cambodian citizens. A high degree of unity and solidarity would ensure the strong existence of national identity, promote socioeconomic development and boost morality for the harmony of society, the king said. “On this great occasion, I wish the 7th National Assembly to run smoothly and carry out its role with a responsible conscience in order to achieve new successes for the common good of the motherland,” the king told the 125 lawmakers, all of whom except five were from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CCP. The others were from Funcinpec led by Prince Norodom Chakravuth, the king’s nephew. Hun Sen, former National Assembly President Heng Samrin, and Interior Minister Sar Kheng also were in attendance. ‘Fake’ election Political analysts and opposition officials said the king’s speech reflected his view that the country’s political divisions would harm the nation, though the situation would not likely change. Um Sam An, a senior official from the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP, said the king’s remarks were intended to guide the new government and lawmakers back onto a democratic path for the benefit of society following what he called “fake” elections. The CNRP official also said that the king was likely dissatisfied with the leadership of the previous one-party government, which often persecuted dissidents and opposition groups. “He warned the deputies to be kind and treat the people well,” Um Sam An said, adding that the political crisis in Cambodia has gotten worse with the holding of “fake” elections this year and in 2018. “So, he understands that democracy and respect for human rights will only get worse in Cambodia,” said Um Sam An. Hun Sen dissolved the opposition CNRP in 2017 and later prevented the party’s leader, Sam Rainsy, from returning to Cambodia to stand trial on charges that rights groups said were politically motivated. Political commentator Kim Sok condemned the new government, saying it was born of the fraudulent elections. “This illegitimate government and parliament face a huge reaction from the international community, the reaction of the people who will protest around the world,” he said. “And in the face of both economic and social crises, poverty and unemployment will occur. All these crises weaken our country.” Knowing these prospects, the king has called for national unity, and that is all his authority allows him to do, Kim Sok added. CCP spokesman Sok Eysan told Radio Free Asia that the king's statement was a general message to people from all walks of life, and not a reference to the new government or the National Assembly. He also said that national unity depended on the attitude of the opposition. Patrick Murphy, the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, who attended the opening of the National Assembly, sent a positive message to the newly elected lawmakers. “As the new gov’t. begins its tenure, it can restore multi-party democracy, end political convictions, and allow independent media to reopen & function without interference, he tweeted. Translated by Sokry Sum for RFA Khmer. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/kings-speech-08212023172901.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

The Ministry of Health has decided to close a hospital in Phnom Penh, after it was discovered that the hospital was employing illegal foreign doctors, following an inspection after the death of a foreign national last week The Ministry has named the offending establishment as Beethoon Cambodia Hospital, located at 506 Monivong Blvd., Sangkat Tonle Bassac, Khan Chamkarmon, Phnom Penh. The decision came after the death of a Chinese woman being treated at the hospital According to a press release issued last night, the decision to close the hospital was made because it did not comply with the technical conditions and did not comply with the warranty contract when requesting to open the department. The hospital broke the law on the management of private professions in the field of accompanying medicine and medical assistance and Sub-Decree No. 94 on the Procedures and Conditions for Permitting Foreigners to be Associate Medical Practitioners and Professional Medical Assistance Private in the Kingdom of Cambodia, as well as Prakas No. 034 OPSMIP of the Ministry of Health, by illegally employing foreign doctors without a license, which led to the death of a foreign patient who died in In Beethoon Hospital, Cambodia on August 18, 2023. https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501346390/phnom-penh-hospital-closed-by-ministry-for-illegal-foreign-doctors-after-womans-death/

Two non-governmental organisations have joined hands with a private company to produce eco-bricks from plastic waste in a novel initiative to address the issue of environmental pollution. According to a press release by the Ministry of Information, Fisheries Action Coalition Team (FACT), Tonle Sap Lake Waterkeeper and Siem Reap Eco-brick Company have constructed a factory at Sangkat Chreav in Siem Reap province for processing plastic waste, mostly plastic bags, to produce eco-bricks. At a seminar on Saturday, organized to create awareness about the project and also to conduct a visit to the project site, Sok Thy, Founder of the Eco-Bricks company said that the old practice of making bricks from clay poses a risk to workers during the production process and a lot of firewood is also burnt during the process. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501346751/siem-reap-factory-makes-eco-bricks-from-plastic-waste/

After 38 years, Cambodia’s leader is handing his son the keys to the family business. Can it survive without him? After nearly four decades in office, Hun Sen this week steps down as Cambodia’s prime minister. The National Assembly sat for the first time Monday, one day before the new premier is set to be sworn in. On Aug. 22, he will hand power over to his eldest son, Hun Manet, who was just 8 years old when his father took charge of a communist regime embroiled in a civil war and held afloat, barely, by foreign aid. The 71-year-old strongman prime minister is bequeathing his son a country that has changed considerably over the course of his reign. Cambodia is on track, by World Bank estimates, to reach upper-middle income status by 2030, but inequality is rampant and poverty remains widespread. The government Hun Manet, 45, inherits is one where it pays to have powerful parents. His incoming defense minister, Tea Seiha, is the son of his father’s long-serving defense minister, Tea Banh, who was appointed in 1989. His new interior minister, Sar Sokha, too, is taking over from his own father, Sar Kheng, who has held the top security position for 31 years. It’s a generational change of government taken to its most literal extreme. The new minister of commerce, Cham Nimol, is the daughter of Cham Prasidh, who ran the ministry from 1994 to 2013. The minister in charge of the civil service, meanwhile, is Hun Manet’s younger brother, Hun Many. Control of Cambodia’s central bank is passing from Chea Chanto, in charge since 1998, to his daughter, Chea Serey. In fact, almost a quarter of the 125 ruling party candidates who ran in the July 2023 national election are related, according to a recent analysis by the Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association. The newest government reflects the Cambodia that Hun Sen has built through decades of political violence and institutional control. It is one where absolute poverty has fallen, but where an idealistic system of electoral government created by the United Nations in the 1990s has been transformed into a constellation of family fiefdoms, glued together only by a knack for corruption. “It is a ‘clanic’ succession; it is a whole clan renewing itself,” Sam Rainsy, Cambodia’s longtime opposition leader, told Radio Free Asia this month. “The regime has become a hereditary dictatorship.” Then-Foreign Affairs Minister Hun Sen holds a press conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, May 31, 1983. Credit: Francis Deron/AFP Young reformist A low-level Khmer Rouge military commander who turned on Pol Pot’s regime two years before its 1979 fall, Hun Sen rapidly rose to power in Cambodia’s Hanoi-backed revolutionary regime. In 1985, at the age of 33, he became the world’s youngest head of government and set about negotiating an end to the civil war with then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the father of Cambodia’s independence. Viewed as a reformist at the time, Hun Sen bucked the older conservative wing of the regime to reach an agreement with Sihanouk’s shadow government that resulted in the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement and the U.N.-run elections. The globally funded nation-building exercise, estimated to have cost in the end more than $20 billion, was meant to instill in Cambodia a vibrant multi-party democratic system, complete with an independent media and a professional civil service. Instead, a series of power grabs by Hun Sen – particularly a coup d’etat in July 1997 and the crackdown that followed the rise of Cambodia’s united opposition in 2013 – mean those who openly oppose his rule could at best hope for prison or exile overseas. Smoke from a burning fuel station billows into the sky as a Cambodian family makes its way out of Phnom Penh amid fighting between forces loyal to the two prime ministers, July 6, 1997. Credit: David van der Veen/AFP After the 1997 coup, U.N. investigators found evidence that at least 40 of Hun Sen’s political rivals had been executed. In ousting his co-prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, he effectively overturned the results of the 1993 U.N.-run elections that the latter had won. It would not be until the 2013 election that a viable challenge to his rule would re-emerge, when two long-bickering opposition parties merged into the Cambodia National Rescue Party and almost came to power in an election they said they only lost due to voter fraud. Months of demonstrations calling for a new vote followed. When the protests later dovetailed with a nationwide strike of garment workers calling for an increase in their $80 minimum monthly wage, the government responded with violence. Military police shot dead at least five of the workers, injuring and jailing dozens more. Hun Sen was once a hope for change but has become “the one who destroyed the political system in Cambodia,” said But Buntenh, a monk who helped lead protests after the disputed 2013 election before fleeing in 2017 amid a crackdown on regime critics. “I recognize that he contributed to the rebuilding of Cambodia after the genocide, even though that had included him as a commander of the genocide,” But Buntenh, who now lives in Massachussets, told RFA. Hun Sen also was instrumental in the development of the Paris Peace Agreement. “That I accept and I appreciate,” he said. “But the people hate him because he took full control and ruled the country with his entire family, and takes Cambodia, as a nation, to belong to his family.” An injured Cambodian garment worker escapes from riot police in the compound of a Buddhist pagoda in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 12, 2013. Police fired live ammunition during clashes with protesting garment workers. Credit: AP Succession, ‘HBO-style’ Maintaining power has required more than just the violent vanquishment of foes. Hun Sen has also had to keep his own party behind him, even when not everybody has seemed on board. In the end, Hun Sen’s own succession plan required him to cut similar handover deals with Interior Minister Sar Kheng and Defense Minister Tea Banh. Such an across-the-board generational transfer is necessary, explained Sam Rainsy, given the “dangerous and sensitive situation” of Hun Sen standing down while two powerful ministers with large security forces behind them could still loom over his son. “Politically speaking, and psychologically speaking, those older officials cannot work under Hun Manet, so they all have to go,” Sam Rainsy said. “And Hun Sen has to find compensation for his colleagues, so he promised they will be replaced by their sons as well.” Hun Sen’s plan for his son to be his successor required him to cut deals with Interior Minister Sar Kheng and Defense Minister Tea Banh [pictured], who both have large security forces at their disposal. Credit: Heng Sinith/AP file photo But it also speaks to the fragmented nature of the government Hun Manet is taking over, one in which he lacks even the power to select his own most important cabinet ministers. “It all resembles a kind of dynastic, corporate handoff,” Sophal Ear, a Cambodia expert at Arizona State University, told RFA. “It’s ‘Succession’ HBO-style, except within a government.” The state is me Though he’s standing down as prime minister, Hun Sen will hold plenty of prime positions, including Senate president, a role that will make him the acting head of state when King Norodom Sihamoni is out of the country. “I’m not going anywhere,” Hun Sen noted in an Aug. 3 speech, in which he also warned he could return as prime minister if Hun Manet is endangered. “I’m just not going to be prime minister anymore – but I will still have power, as the president of the ruling party.” The role of CPP president may have newfound prominence in Cambodia. As the government-aligned Khmer Times noted in its report on his speech, Hun Sen pledged to respect the independence of the new government but noted their decisions “must not be different from the policy of the party that has made a promise to the electorate.” In some ways, it’s a reversion to Hun Sen’s roots, as a young revolutionary trained by political minders from Vietnam, where the Communist Party secretary-general runs the show, and the prime minister, as head of government, implements party edicts. Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen takes a selfie with a fan during an inauguration ceremony for a Phnom Penh road project, August 3, 2023. Credit: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP Stability, but for how long At the very least, Hun Sen will be able to say he left behind a system of government that has lasted, said Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Canberra and an election observer during the 1993 U.N.-run elections. “Hun Sen will bequeath to Cambodia the longest-serving and most stable regime since Cambodia attained independence in November 1953,” Thayer said, even if the outgoing premier “also will go down in history as the destroyer of multiparty democracy in Cambodia.” Hun Manet’s government, he added, will have a chance to “overcome baggage from the past” and forge new policy paths, as it searches for legitimacy. Hun Manet, son of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun, shows his inked finger after voting in Cambodia's general election, in Phnom Penh, July 23, 2023. Credit: Cindy Liu/Reuters One of the weaknesses of a personalist authoritarian regime is its reliance, at the end of the day, on its central persona. Rainsy, the opposition leader, said that while the passing of ministerial fiefdoms from parent to child across the regime this week was meant to shore-up Manet’s position, there are no long-term guarantees. “As long as Hun Sen is in good health, as long as he can show authority and threaten everybody, then this can last,” he said. “But the very day Hun Sen shows a sign of weakness, the day that his health deteriorates to the point that his authority is not as it is now, Hun Manet will not be able to hold onto his position.” https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/hun-sen-legacy-08182023094118.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Images have been released of seven captured criminals – involved in the armed storming of a Siem Reap dental clinic that freed a Chinese criminal who was serving a 52 year drug sentence – with police confirming that all 7 ‘hired criminals” are United States citizens who planned the crime in the USA before coming to Cambodia. A scan of one of the men’s passports names him as In Channty, aged 34, from the state of California General Mak Chito, Deputy Commissioner of the National Police, confirmed through a press conference today that so far seven criminals – 6 men and a woman – have been arrested, including six Cambodian-Americans (holding US passports) and Chinese-American (holding an American passport). The General added that the well-organized criminal group had been planning their activities for the past two months in the United States before they arrived in Cambodia about 2 weeks ago. He described them as “hired criminals”. General Neth Savoeun, General Commissioner of the National Police, stated yesterday that police arrested 6 criminals who were involved in the incident on the 17th of August. https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501345554/us-citizen-among-6-arrested-for-armed-storming-of-siem-reap-clinic-to-free-foreign-prisoner/

At least 8 foreigners have been arrested after a brawl led to the death of a man last night in Phnom Penh. The incident happened at 10:30 pm on August 17, 2023 in Borey Prek Ta Sek, concrete road in Sangkat Chroy Changva, Khan Chroy Changva, Phnom Penh. According to a security guard, before the incident, he saw a group of Vietnamese men sitting and drinking together in Prek Ta Borey. The man then heard a loud argument. Suddenly, the guard saw a man running downstairs with blood on his body and face. Immediately, his compatriots called a private ambulance. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at the scene. After that, the security guards in Borey Prek Ta Sek reported to the upper level and the authorities to intervene immediately. After the local police arrived, they immediately arrested the perpetrators, while 8 other men and women were detained for questioning, The forensic officer of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police confirmed that the victim died due to stab wounds https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501345231/foreigners-arrested-after-brawl-leaves-man-dead/

Phnom Penh — Dozens of Cambodian medical school students gathered last month to learn how they can deploy their skills to help the millions of Khmer Rouge survivors still alive in Cambodia, many of whom are struggling with mental and physical health problems. The Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), a leading archival and support organization for Khmer Rouge survivors, organized the workshop in Phnom Penh on July 29 to develop leaders in the health field and highlight the positive contributions they can make working with elderly Cambodians. Sari Amira, a nursing student from Norton University in Phnom Penh, told VOA Khmer that she appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the life of Khmer Rouge survivors, and pitied those who are still struggling with the mental scars from the genocide. “After this workshop, I will apply the knowledge I gained today in the healthcare profession and share it with friends who did not attend today,” Sari Amira said. Although 30 years have passed since relative peace returned to Cambodia in the early 1990s, there remains pervasive shortages in health care access across the country, particularly in rural areas where many Khmer Rouge survivors live. Scarce mental health resources are stretched particularly thin, despite widespread trauma that has been handed down through the generations. Sari Amira explained that the workshop provided her a new understanding of how doctors can communicate effectively with patients, and highlighted the main illnesses — mental and physical — facing Khmer Rouge survivors. “I think this workshop is good for me. I have learned a lot such as changing behavior to build trust from patients,” she said. “I also understand how to work professionally, how to communicate with the patients ethically and the 10 main diseases and illnesses that most often occur with Khmer Rouge survivors.” DC-Cam’s third workshop on “Advancing the rights and improving the health conditions of Khmer Rouge survivors” was joined by 40 students from various medical schools across the city. It followed a nationwide survey in which the organization spoke to some 32,000 survivors in less than a year. DC-Cam volunteers identified 10 chronic illnesses among survivors — hypertension, stomach ailments, malaria, mental illness, cardiovascular disease, joint disorders, severe asthma, diabetes, tuberculosis and leprosy. Hong Pengky, 19-year-old laboratory student of Chenla University, said he felt inspired to help bring health care to the millions of survivors who desperately need it. “For effective treatment, we think that in remote areas, there is no hospital near most houses, so we [medical care providers] need to go to those areas. We have to give them advice, to help and tell them how to take care of themselves,” Pengky said. “We can volunteer to help treat them or we can inform…other volunteer doctors who are interested to go and help.” Medical students attends a workshop organized by DC-Cam, in Phnom Penh on July 29, 2023. (DC-Cam) So Farina, DC-Cam’s principal deputy director, told VOA Khmer the organization hoped the medical students would take a leadership role in treating Khmer Rouge survivors, understand how to engage with the older patients and recognize their health conditions. “We also focus on changing attitudes,” she said, “because we see that there are many factors that contribute to health care such as health problems, resources, surrounding environment and showing them how to prepare and become a good doctor,” she said. The problems facing these patients often run deep. “There is trauma due to various issues of that generation — work exhaustion, as well as the killing of their family members or what they have seen,” she added. She said that DC-Cam will conduct the fourth workshop on August 19 to help broaden the medical students’ knowledge on Khmer Rouge survivors’ health conditions and strengthen their leadership and compassion toward survivors or patients. DC-Cam has been investigating Khmer Rouge atrocities and working with survivors for nearly two decades. The health care project launched in 2021 and connects young volunteers with survivors across the country to document their stories, respond to health surveys and provide access to medical care in 48 clinics across the country. Many survivors of the regime hoped that the Khmer Rouge Tribunal would require the government to provide medical care as part of reparations awarded to “civil parties” to the trial. However, as the tribunal wrapped up last year it became clear that many of their health care needs would remain unmet. The tribunal argued that “it cannot impose legal obligations on the Cambodian Government, and that the Court lacks the resources to fulfill such obligations,” Michael Karnavas, a former criminal defense lawyer at the tribunal, wrote in a research paper. The workshop featured a number of expert speakers. Dr. Demosthenes C. Reyes, who provides medical services for DC-Cam’s Advancing the Rights and Improving the Health Conditions of Khmer Rouge Survivors program, told the medical students that being honest to patients is a key to building good relations and trust. “So as a doctor, you need to fight for the truth and the right treatment,” Dr. Reyes said. “If you're not sure, give it to somebody else who is actually expert on this, but if you can do it, do it because it's the right thing to do.” https://www.voacambodia.com/a/workshop-seeks-to-connect-cambodian-medical-students-with-khmer-rouge-survivors/7228840.html

Indictment in Taiwan reveals how Chen Hsin Han used WhatsApp to contact heroin couriers from behind bars. A Taiwanese drug lord freed from his 52-year jail sentence by masked gunmen while he was on a prison-granted dentist visit was conducting secret drug trafficking operations from Cambodia to Taiwan as recently as in 2020, despite being behind bars in Siem Reap, Radio Free Asia has learned. Court documents from Taiwanese authorities uncovered by RFA Investigative reveal that Chen Hsin Han, a Taiwanese national arrested on drug charges in Cambodia in 2009, managed to smuggle nearly 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of heroin to an associate in Taiwan in 2020 using a middleman he met while incarcerated. It is unclear whether Cambodian prison authorities were aware that Chen was conducting these illicit activities while in jail. But the degree to which he had access to outside resources could help explain his stunning escape on Thursday morning, when he was sprung from police custody by five men wearing masks after they charged into a dental clinic Chen was visiting. Footage from the raid shows the men pointing guns at prison guards accompanying Chen whom they had tied up while they searched for the drug lord before escaping with him. The group apparently abandoned the Lexus they drove to make their getaway, which was found several hours later with guns, masks, clothes and other materials left inside, Prison Department spokesman Nuth Savna said. “The reason the suspects could free the prisoner was because they pointed guns at the guards,” he said. “If we fought they would shoot us.” Chen Hsin Han, who was in prison for drug trafficking in Cambodia, is seen in custody in this undated photo. Credit: Fresh News Chen, 45, was arrested in 2009 and later sentenced to 52 years for drug trafficking. Before the escape, he was being held at a prison near the provincial capital of Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia. Court records from Taiwan described his role in at least two heroin smuggling cases dating to fall 2020. According to the documents, Chen masterminded one scheme to smuggle 28 cans of what was purported to be durian paste into Taiwan through Thailand. Chen instructed an associate, Nathan Guy Garrett - said to be a U.K. national he met in Siem Reap prison - to help with the shipments, but Thai authorities discovered that the containers were filled with heroin. Weeks later, Chen instructed Garrett to transport six handbags filled with 2 kilograms of heroin into Taiwan to help distribute them there with another associate, Chan Yuxuan. Chan Yuxuan, was arrested in November 2020, along with Garrett and a driver. They were indicted in 2021. Their charging documents noted WhatsApp communications with Chen about the schemes and that Chen had the ability to remotely control drug deliveries from prison. For example, when Garrett needed to take drugs to another city in Taiwan, he immediately reported to Chen that he didn't have money for transportation. "Chen promised to transfer the money immediately." Chen then instructed another Taiwanese individual to assist in transferring money to Garrett promptly, the indictment said. Cambodian police have arrested six men connected to Chen’s escape this week, but he remains at large as of Friday. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/khmer-taiwan-drug-lord-08182023182231.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

The Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department of the National Police rescued 12 women from cafes offering sex services after raiding four cafés in Phnom Penh on Monday. The police also shut down the cafes and arrested four shop owners, three women and a man, following the raids conducted at Tralork Bek area along Street 598 in Boeng Kak II commune of Tuol Kork district, around 9pm on Monday. The authorities said that the police cracked down on the cafes following complaints from people against the five cafes which according to them were open day and night, and offering illegal sex services. All the rescued women were sent to the Department of Social Affairs, while the arrested owners and the evidence collected in the raids were sent to the Department of Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection department for legal proceedings. Authorities refused to share the whereabouts and age of the victims. However, a commune police officer, on condition of anonymity, said that the authorities have warned the cafes running illegal sex services several times, but they ignored them. He also said that most of the cafes are run by long-term residents which makes it difficult for the police to take action against them. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501343546/12-women-rescued-after-crackdowns-on-cafes-running-sex-dens/

Preah Vihear provincial administration has organised a cycling programme in the compound of Koh Ker Temple, a major historical and cultural site in the province, to promote the provincial tourism. The event, initiated by Preah Vihear Provincial Governor Kim Rithy, took place late last week on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of International Youth Day. Rithy said this cycling programme was aimed to contribute to promoting the national heritage and tourism, as well as to celebrating the 24th anniversary of International Youth Day in order to encourage the public as well as officials at all levels, especially the young people to turn their attention to the national heritage, left behind by ancestors, such as Koh Ker and many other ancient temples in the province. Tep Sinith, a tourist from Phnom Penh, said that Preah Vihear is a province with great tourism potential, and if the provincial leaders and authorities continue to create more particular events, national and international tourists will get to know the province better. “As far as we know, in addition to Koh Ker, Preah Vihear, and Phnom Tbeng, there are many other temples and attractive natural tourism sites in the province,” he added. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501343664/preah-vihear-province-organises-a-cycling-programme-to-promote-tourism/

The 10 activists from a coastal province were given one-year jail terms amid a lengthy land dispute. A provincial court on Tuesday sentenced 10 activists to one year in jail in a case that stems from several long-running land disputes that have triggered protests in Cambodia’s southwestern Koh Kong province. The activists were arrested in late June after they tried to travel to Phnom Penh to submit a petition to the Ministry of Justice. The Koh Kong Provincial Court convicted them of malicious denunciation and incitement to provoke chaos. They were ordered to pay 10 million riel (about US$2,400) to tycoon Heng Huy, whose company is involved in one of the land conflicts in the coastal province near the Thai border. Illegal land grabs by developers or individuals are not uncommon in Cambodia, where officials and bureaucrats can be bribed to provide bogus land titles. Disputes over land are one of the major causes of social disturbances throughout Southeast Asia. “The activists have endured numerous disputes dating back as far as 2006, after companies linked to tycoons Ly Yong Phat and Heng Huy established sugar plantations on community land,” the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, or Licadho, said in a statement. “However, the activists’ efforts to protect their land have been continually met with authority-led harassment,” it said. Police threatened other community members who gathered in front of the provincial police station on June 30 after the arrests. They later prevented people from gathering in front of the provincial court. But on Tuesday, about 100 people were able to demonstrate in front of the provincial court to show support for the defendants, activists told Radio Free Asia. One defendants’ sentence was fully suspended, while the remaining nine intend to appeal, activists told RFA. Other recent decisions One of the defendants, Kert Nov, told RFA that she is worried about how her family will be affected if she is jailed. “I won’t accept the one-year jail conviction because I didn’t breach any law,” she said. “I will appeal the decision.” Radio Free Asia was unable to reach court spokesman Sou Sovannara and provincial Gov. Mithona Phuthong for comment on the sentences. Several other court decisions were issued this month related to Koh Kong land disputes. The Supreme Court on Aug. 4 upheld additional convictions of malicious denunciation and defamation against Det Huor, a representative of Koh Kong villagers who has led demonstrations in Phnom Penh. On Aug. 2, the provincial court found two women activists, Phav Nheung and Seng Lin, guilty of defamation and incitement to provoke chaos. Both were sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and ordered to pay 40 million riel (approximately US$9,600) in compensation. In Koh Kong, hundreds of villagers have also accused Ly Yong Phat, a senator from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and casino tycoon with business interests in the province, and the Chinese-backed Union Development Group, UDG, of encroaching on their land. UDG is building a US$3.8 billion project that includes a seaport, resorts and casinos in Koh Kong. Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/land-activists-sentenced-08152023161550.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Cambodian authorities said Monday they have arrested seven Japanese nationals who are allegedly members of a fraud group. Japanese police suspect that two of the men are involved in several fraud cases in Japan, Kyodo News reported. They plan on dispatching investigators to Cambodia while procedures are under way to deport the suspects to Japan. According to investigators, the seven men were using a hotel in Cambodia as their hub. The men, aged in their 30s to 50s, had no passports, leading Cambodian police to believe they are part of a bigger gang that had coerced them into committing acts of fraud. Around May, information was provided to Cambodian authorities that a Japanese man was scamming people online from a Cambodian hotel near the Thai border. After local authorities contacted Japanese police, they managed to confiscate and check the contents of the suspect’s mobile phone and computer. He and another suspect are accused of getting a man in Saga Prefecture to invest cash in a bogus real estate deal. read more https://japantoday.com/category/crime/7-japanese-nationals-in-cambodia-arrested-over-alleged-fraud

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA — Multiple Cambodian tycoons are under fire for alleged fraudulent real estate sales to thousands of people who are struggling to pay back loans from microfinance institutions and banks used to invest in land or gated community projects. In the most prominent cases, two “oknhas” — tycoons who have given at least $500,000 to the government — have been arrested and charged with fraud in separate schemes after families in multiple provinces accused them of reneging on promised monthly dividends from land investments or homes promised in gated community projects. Hy Kimhong, director of Piphup Deimeas Investment Co., and Chea Saron, director of Chea Saron Realty Co., could spend two to five years in jail if convicted in Cambodian court. At least two other tycoons, including music producer Leng Navatra and Nuon Ak, have faced social media criticism or complaints with local authorities over real estate projects that frustrated investors say have been slow to deliver. In Kampot province, in the southern part of the country, on the Gulf of Thailand, Kimhong, who is also the director of microfinance institution AMZ, faces more than 1,000 lawsuits alleging Piphup Deimeas cheated families out of a total of $21 million. Locals in Kampot’s Chhuk district told VOA that Piphup Deimeas employees have traveled house-to-house for at least three years, promising monthly dividends for investments in land plots. Oy Chantha, 62, took out $20,000 in microfinance bank loans for his son to invest in Piphup Deimeas. At first, they received steady dividends that boosted their income from selling banana rice cakes and allowed Chantha to keep up with $500 monthly loan payments. Around the Chhuk district, farmers and sellers who invested suddenly had money to spend. They bought new cars and motorcycles. They quit their jobs at the market. They hosted parties. But in April, the cash flow stopped. Now Chantha said he is considering selling his cows and motorbikes to pay back the loans. If he cannot do so, he said, he fears his house and farmland — which he put up for collateral — could be seized. “I can’t sleep,” he told VOA. “I’m the one who has to pay. … I’ll be nothing. I’ll be zero.” Kimhong, who was also named as an adviser to outgoing National Assembly President Heng Samrin in February, has maintained his innocence. On Aug. 7, he was arrested with 13 associates, but a viral Facebook video showed him, handcuffed, telling police that “I still think that I can handle it,” meaning that he still thought he would be able to get people their back dividends soon. “The word cheat is not correct — you can say delaying,” Kimhong said in the video. “This is delaying. … We promise that we will make it back smoothly by August.” AMZ representatives did not answer a phone call from VOA, and Piphup Deimeas posted on its Facebook page on August 8 that its employees were taking time off. In another case playing out in Kampot and neighboring Takeo province, at least 2,000 families have accused local tycoon Chea Saron, director of Chea Saron Realty Co., of fraud after buying into “borey,” or gated community projects, and land plots they say never came to fruition. Heng Ith, 65, first invested $10,000 in 2020 with the promise of a spot in a borey, and started receiving $250 back monthly in dividends. Encouraged by the steady flow of money — and Saron’s “convincing” team — she told VOA she invested more and more. An associate of Saron’s would drive her to microfinance institutions and banks, including BNK, Prasac and Hattha, to get loans, and take her directly to Saron’s local office afterward, she said. But the borey — which locals identified as a group of unfinished blue buildings off a busy road in the same district — stopped construction months ago, and in December, investors like Ith stopped receiving payouts. Then in April, Saron and eight associates were arrested and charged with fraud, accused of cheating people out of a total of about $40 million. Ith still owes $57,000 in microfinance loans with her home as collateral and has sold off jewelry to make payments. The lenders have stopped their daily visits since Saron’s arrest. “If they want to boil us [alive], or do whatever they want to do with us, it’s up to them,” Ith said. “Where can we get the money?” Accusations of real estate fraud are not new in Cambodia, where the loose regulatory environment has spawned get-rich-quick schemes and ambitious projects aimed at enhancing tycoons’ reputations. Many projects have failed to materialize over the years, including a tower developers promised would be the tallest in Southeast Asia and sprawling resorts along the southern coast. Small-time oknhas may start real estate schemes to build up their image but lack money or experience, Sylvia Nam, a former assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine, who has studied real estate speculation in Cambodia, told VOA. “People are being sold a project by somebody with deep connections — or somebody who presents themselves as though they have deep connections — but maybe those connections aren’t actually that deep,” Nam said. “The line between what is legitimate versus illegitimate only comes at the moment of success. And even the moment of success is actually kind of unclear,” she added. The accusations also come at a time of overall stagnation in construction. Ross Wheble, country head at real estate consultancy Knight Frank Cambodia, told VOA that high inflation and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate hikes had a “direct impact” on Cambodia’s real estate sector, particularly borey projects, where buyers have struggled to make repayments on properties. “This has led to a slowdown of construction, particularly within the residential sector, with many developers now struggling with cash flow,” Wheble said. Ung Chhay, spokesman for Kampot province and deputy provincial governor, told VOA that he could not estimate how many people have been affected by fraudulent land investment schemes but that “many families” had suffered. Victims have also emerged in a handful of other provinces. We have taken measures by compromising with the financial institutions, like banks, to ask them to be understanding," Chhay said. "The banks understand and have weakened their measures[to collect on loans] while we wait for a solution. https://www.voanews.com/a/cambodian-tycoons-under-fire-for-alleged-real-estate-schemes/7224584.html

Interior Minister Sar Kheng instructed all ministry officials to continue to fulfill their departmental duties and unite to serve the country, while announcing his resignation as the Minister. Speaking at the graduation ceremony of about 560 cadets in police science at the Police Academy of Cambodia yesterday, Kheng emphasised that senior officials in general departments in the ministry must continue working harder to serve the country. Officials with the rank of Secretary of State and Undersecretary of State must also continue to accept the tasks assigned by the ministry because there is more work to be done, he said. “I am leaving the Ministry of Interior to attend to another duty. I hope that the officials of the general departments will continue with their efforts in doing their jobs well,” he said. Kheng said that he hoped that the officials in the ministry will continue to do their jobs better, so the ministry can continue to serve the country and the people. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501342894/sar-kheng-announces-resignation-at-police-cadets-graduation-ceremony/

Government officials from three Southeast Asian nations say the Denver Art Museum continues to house antiquities stolen from their countries’ ancient temples and heritage sites. Representatives from Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam sent letters to the museum, via U.S. investigators, in May and June, saying the prized relics had no legal export permits to lawfully leave their countries. The museum, they said, did not respond. “There is a taint on these cultural properties at the Denver Art Museum,” Phoeurng Sackona, Cambodia’s minister of culture and fine arts, wrote in a June letter obtained by The Denver Post. The countries are seeking the return of eight pieces in all — including six donated to the museum by Emma C. Bunker, a former Denver Art Museum trustee and research consultant. In December, The Post published a three-part investigation into Bunker’s critical role in a decades-long antiquities trafficking operation that implicated some of the world’s top museums and private collectors. READ MORE https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501343000/cambodia-thailand-and-vietnam-say-the-denver-art-museum-still-holds-their-stolen-heritage/

Phonm Penh/Washington — Cambodia’s incoming prime minister, General Hun Manet, had a trial run over the weekend for his most important foreign relationship, hosting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a visit to Phnom Penh. Hun Manet assured Wang Yi that Cambodia’s new government will maintain an “unchanged stance” on Bejing’s one-China policy and a “non-interference policy” toward China, according to a message on the Cambodian leader’s Facebook page. Hun Manet also agreed to join a Belt and Road Initiative forum in China in mid-October, which is likely to be one of his first foreign trips after being sworn in to office later this month. He will join the 20th China-ASEAN exposition in Nanning, the capital of the southern Guangxi region. Following his visit to Phnom Penh, Wang Yi said the forum would promote China’s “industrial development corridor” and “fish and rice corridor,” as well as “enhance Cambodia's capacity for independent development at a faster pace,” according to a statement on the Chinese embassy’s website. He also thanked Hun Sen for his “historic contribution” to the China-Cambodia friendship and said Beijing is “ready to work with the new Cambodian government…so that the friendship between the two countries is deeply rooted in people's hearts and passes on from generation to generation.” Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, right, hugs Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting in Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Aug. 13, 2023. (Kok Ky/Cambodia's Government Cabinet) However, Hun Manet received Beijing’s highest blessing long before Prime Minister Hun Sen announced last month that his eldest son would succeed him within weeks of July’s national parliamentary election. In February last year, Hun Sen brought Hun Manet to a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “His excellency the president strongly believes in Hun Manet’s capacity … to maintain the speed of development” for the country, said a senior Cambodian official after the visit. Cambodia over the past decade has become increasingly reliant on China for its economic growth, and by extension its political stability. At the same time, Cambodia has been a spoiler in regional efforts to counter China’s rising influence. READ MORE https://www.voanews.com/a/cambodia-s-hun-manet-signals-unchanged-china-policy-ahead-of-succession/7224836.html

A good relationship with the Cambodian government would be a prerequisite for the resumption of negotiations on overlapping claims to natural gas resources in the Gulf of Thailand, experts said, but warned of a return to a cold conflict if there were mutual reservations. The dividends of a diplomatic bonhomie would be high, as together they could exploit an estimated 1 trillion baht worth of energy resources. Political turmoil and bruised nationalism, mostly in Thailand after the military coup in 2006, became a major impediment for progress in talks between the two countries on demarcating the disputed maritime boundaries as well as jointly developing petroleum reserves in the 26,000 square-kilometre area, they said. The issue was discussed at length during a seminar on the overlapping claims of the two countries in the Gulf of Thailand. The event was jointly hosted by Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Law and the Foreign Ministry’s Treaties and Legal Affairs Department on August 10, even as the Thai side is still waiting for new guidelines and instructions from the yet-to-be-formed government. read more https://www.thaipbsworld.com/a-pheu-thai-led-government-could-revive-talks-with-cambodia-on-gas-exploration/

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — China’s foreign minister visited Cambodia over the weekend to reaffirm his country’s commitment to the southeast Asian country after its incumbent prime minister handed off the job to his son following a one-sided election last month, officials said. Wang Yi is the first foreign leader to visit Cambodia, days after Hun Sen’s announcement that his 45-year-old son and the country’s army chief, Hun Manet, is replacing him. A video of the meeting was posted on Hun Sen’s Telegram channel on Sunday. Eang Sophalleth, Hun Sen’s spokesman, told reporters after the meeting that Wang Yi expressed China’s willingness to cooperate with the newly-appointed prime minister. Cambodia’s foreign ministry later released a statement citing Wang Yi as expressing China’s support for “the Kingdom’s emerging government leadership.” Hun Sen, the longest-serving government head in Asia, and his party sealed a landslide victory in the country’s general election after barring the main opposition group —the Candlelight Party— from contesting the polls on a technicality. Western nations and rights groups criticized the election saying it was neither “free” nor “fair.” read more https://www.thestar.com/news/world/asia/china-s-foreign-minister-visits-cambodia-days-after-incumbent-premier-hands-off-the-job-to/article_e9000723-8c84-5309-a7d8-5cef263fc231.html

A high school in north-eastern Cambodia has been forced to close temporarily after thousands of unexploded munitions were discovered. Cambodia remains one of the world's most heavily mined countries, 48 years after the end of its brutal civil war. At that time, the Queen Kosomak High School in Kratie province was being used as a military station. Photos show tons of rusty explosives neatly stacked in rows, with grenades and anti-tank launchers among them. In total, more than 2,000 pieces of ordnance was discovered over three days - Heng Ratana, director general of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre, told AFP news agency. He said the munitions were found when the ground was being cleared to expand a garden, and if the whole school was cleared, more would likely be dug up. "It is a huge stroke of luck for the students. These explosive devices are easy to explode if someone dug into the ground and hit them," Mr Heng said. Students were told to stay away from the school until the clean up was complete, which was expected to take two days. Cambodia's eight-year civil war ended in 1975, however it continue to suffer from the aftermath. read more https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66491920

01000000-0aff-0242-4f2d-08db9c2f08ff_240p.mp4 Before COVID-19, Chinese investors turned Cambodia's sleepy seaside city of Sihanoukville into a ‘round-the-clock gambling hotspot. But China’s economy has been grappling with a post-pandemic slowdown, and now the buildings by the beach — abandoned by Chinese investors — have become eyesores. More on this from Hul Reaksmey in Sihanoukville. Camera: Pin Sisovann. https://www.voanews.com/a/cambodia-s-gambling-hotspot-reduced-to-ghost-buildings-/7223367.html

With upcoming change of leader, key posts remain within influential networks PHNOM PENH -- With incoming Prime Minister Hun Manet front and center, 48 members of Cambodia's ruling elite posed for a photo on the polished stone steps of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) headquarters on Thursday, in what appears to be a look at the Southeast Asian country's new cabinet. Manet, 45, is being handed the job directly from his 71-year-old father, Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 38 years. The eldest son's accession, which will become official on Aug. 22, is part of a carefully managed generational transition within the CPP, which is built on familial patronage networks that link the country's wealthy political, business and military elites. As the creator of and dominant force in this highly personalized system, Hun Sen has been careful to balance competing interests within the party, ensuring that grandees can pass their jobs to their children, or at least secure influential roles for them. read more https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Children-of-elite-set-for-top-spots-in-Cambodian-government

Police have made another massive drug seizure in Cambodia – confiscating 465kg of methamphetamine in 2 raids The competent authority of the Anti-Drug Department (A4) led by Brigadier General Puth Sunrasmey, Deputy Director of the Department, Lieutenant Colonel Kheng Serey, Deputy Director of the Department and Lt. Col. Tep Samphan, Director of A4 Office Phnom Penh Municipal Police Commissioner Mr. Vong Savath, Deputy Prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, cracked down on the drug traffickers on August 8, 2023. Police executed the operation to crack down on drug traffickers crossing the border from the Golden Triangle through Laos into Cambodia at two different destinations – a guesthouse in Prek Chrey village, Sangkat Spean Thmor, Khan Dangkor, and in Sangkat Phnom Penh Thmey, Khan Sen Sok. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501341542/drug-trafficking-on-a-giant-scale-police-seize-over-450kg-of-drugs-in-golden-triangle-bust/