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In six years, from September 2016 to September 2022, Cambodia’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport managed to sell 225,171 special and personalized car registration number plates earning $82,418,125. While disclosing this recently, Koy Sodany, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Commission for the Management of Sales of Vehicle Registration Numbers, said the ministry has been promoting the sale of special registration numbers more effectively for the last several years in a bid to collect additional revenue. The initiatives taken from 2020-2023 helped to disseminate the information more widely to companies, enterprises as well as the general public, the Secretary of State said. The special number are divided into two categories – capital-provincial special numbers and personal special numbers with the letter “Cambodia”. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501173215/special-number-plates-net-82m-in-six-years/

The ode to the Cambodian leader’s early childhood comes as he prepares to start the transfer of power to his son. A new biopic about Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen focuses on the now 70-year-old’s impoverished childhood, eschewing any mention of his time as a Khmer Rouge battalion commander to instead depict him as a bookish student who overcame bullying to achieve his destiny. The 30-minute film, which opens with a scene of the future premier being struck by a burst of moonlight as his mother gives birth, is centered around Hun Sen’s upbringing in Phnom Penh’s Neakavoan pagoda, where he lived in the 1960s before joining the communist maquis in 1970. Titled “Life of a Pagoda Boy,” it shows Hun Sen struggling to afford to eat after being sent to the city as a young child to study with monks, who teach him about Cambodian history and prophesize that he will grow powerful. His parents, meanwhile, are depicted as poor farmers who battle to survive and often fantasize about a life where they didn’t send him away. “Because you’ll be far from your parents, you’ll have to struggle,” the father says as he sends Hun Sen away from the idyllic countryside, in a sequence that takes up the film’s first half. “Study hard,” his mother offers. A series of rapid-fire scenes then culminate in Hun Sen’s rise to officialdom. As he studies in the dying days of Prince Norodom Sihanouk’s rule in Phnom Penh, the young Hun Sen is bullied by the children of aristocrats, with his main tormentor bearing a clear resemblance to present-day opposition leader Sam Rainsy, whose father was a top minister in Sihanouk’s government. When the bully pours a drink over Hun Sen’s head at a cocktail party and mocks him for being poor – as renowned Cambodian “Golden Era” pop singer Pan Ron plays live in the background – the film cuts to a monk making the prophecy that Hun Sen had been blessed and will grow powerful. A final bullying scene then sees “Life of a Pagoda Boy” suddenly cut to its closing scene: an older and steely-eyed Hun Sen, now as the 27-year-old foreign minister in the Vietnamese-backed successor regime to the Khmer Rouge in the early 1980s, meets with Indian diplomats, as the credits roll. A burst of moonlight strikes Hun Sen just after his mother gives birth. Credit: Screenshot from film Building a legacy ‘beyond political contestation’ The biopic was written by Hun Sen and cost $120,000 to produce, and premiered at the Ministry of Land Management in Phnom Penh on Sept. 28, according to pro-government local newspaper The Khmer Times. Its release comes as the premier enters the twilight of his rule. “The film is part of a process of memorialization that has been taking place for some time now,” Sebastian Strangio, author of “Hun Sen’s Cambodia,” told Radio Free Asia, pointing also to the recent construction of the prime minister’s “Win-Win Monument” on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. “After so many years in power, it is clear that Hun Sen is starting to consider his legacy, and work out ways of ensuring that it survives his own eventual exit from the political scene,” he said. “In that sense, it is more than navel-gazing; it is an attempt to wreath Hun Sen’s legacy in the veil of legend, and to place it effectively beyond political contestation.” Hun Sen has said he plans to run for reelection next year, before handing power to his son, Hun Manet, after the 2028 election, at which point he will have served as prime minister for 43 years. His Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), an outgrowth of the Hanoi-backed regime that replaced the Khmer Rouge in 1979, has faced little threat to its power since the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was forced to disband in 2017. CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said he could not deny that the film had a political purpose. “There’s no one who doesn't want the benefits of telling stories,” Eysan told RFA. “It is to draw support and votes.” But a critic of the CPP said that Hun Sen was looking beyond 2023. But Buntenh, an activist monk who was exiled from Cambodia and is now based in Lowell, Massachusetts, told RFA he believed that the film was part of a propaganda push to make the case for continued Hun family rule. “This is to divert the youth’s attention from the power transfer to his son. The youth who have an education do not believe in this transfer of power from father to son,” Buntenh said. “He has no other way to help his son.” Buntenh said the film’s focus on Hun Sen’s childhood in a pagoda and on predictions of his rise made by monks was intended to convince people that his rule over the country was preordained and legitimate. That was important, he said, because his leadership of the country since 1985 had been marred by state corruption, stark inequality and human rights abuses. “Hun Sen believes the Cambodian people believe in superstition and the abstract – things that do not have scientific proof. He understands they believe in fate, which is not in line with Buddhist faith,” he said. “This is the only way for Hun Sen to do promotion for his family dynasty.” Widespread land-grabbing, deforestation, political violence and graft have marked Hun Sen’s decades of rule over Cambodia, with his government repeatedly pledging to stamp out each over the years to little avail. High-profile critics of the government have routinely been killed in broad daylight, including union leader Chea Vichea in 2004, environmentalist Chut Wutty in 2012 and political commentator Kem Ley in 2016. A bully who bears a resemblance to opposition leader Sam Rainsy pours a drink over Hun Sen’s head at a cocktail party. Credit: Screenshot from film ‘Glossing over the unpleasantness’ Hun Sen’s efforts to guarantee succession to his eldest son come after the destruction of what was already a flimsy democracy in Cambodia. The CNRP, which was created out of two rival opposition parties in 2012, came close to defeating Hun Sen’s CPP in the 2013 national election. But the party was then banned in the lead-up to the 2018 election, with opposition leader Kem Sokha jailed and a number of independent media outlets shuttered, including Radio Free Asia’s local offices. Hun Sen’s party later won all 125 National Assembly seats on offer, with the premier appearing to grow more outwardly concerned with public perceptions of his legacy as he readies his country – and his party – for a succession. Notably, in suddenly skipping from his childhood to his time as foreign minister, the film ignores Hun Sen’s time as a battalion commander in – and then defector from – the Khmer Rouge, which is estimated to have killed at least 1.7 million Cambodians, or almost a quarter of the country’s population at the time, during its three years in power. The prime minister lost his left eye in fighting the day before Pol Pot’s forces took over Phnom Penh in April 1975, before defecting in 1977. Such an omission was easy to understand from the prime minister’s perspective, said Sophal Ear, an associate professor in global development and Cambodia expert at Arizona State University in Phoenix. “The inconvenient truth is the 1970s would have to explain his whereabouts,” Ear told RFA, adding Hun Sen was clearly not proud of all of his origin story. “What, indeed, was he up to? It's too complicated, so we dig a hole and bury the past. We gloss over the unpleasantness and skip a decade.” “This is all part of a project to control the narrative; pagoda boy becomes savior of the nation. This is his legacy-building and legend-making.” https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/biopic-10212022134351.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Federal agents at Logan Airport allegedly found a video of a young boy that appeared to have been produced during the trip. A Massachusetts man who works as a magician entertaining kids has been arrested on a child pornography charge. Scott Jameson, a 45-year-old from Sutton, a town in Worcester County, was arrested on Friday, after returning from Cambodia. Federal authorities were notified that Jameson, a dual citizen of the United States and Ireland, had most recently travelled to Cambodia on August 28 and returned on October 19. He was stopped upon his return and his belongings were searched. He has been accused of possessing sexually explicit images of young children, after Federal agents at Logan Airport allegedly found a video of a young boy that appeared to have been produced during the trip. A separate device allegedly contained over 100 images of apparent child pornography. read more https://www.sundayworld.com/crime/world-crime/irishman-who-works-as-magician-entertaining-kids-arrested-on-child-porn-charge/449648390.html

PHNOM PENH, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian foreign ministers will hold a special meeting in Indonesia on Thursday to discuss the Myanmar peace process, Cambodia's foreign ministry said on Sunday. The talks at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat in Jakarta will cover the implementation of a five-point peace "consensus" agreed with Myanmar's military rulers last year to try to end conflict in the country, ministry spokesman Chum Sounry told Reuters. Myanmar has been trapped in a cycle of violence since the army ousted Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February 2021, detaining her and thousands of activists and launching a bloody crackdown on protests and dissent. The meeting will seek to come up with recommendations on how to push forward the peace process ahead of an ASEAN summit next month, he said by text message. Cambodia is the current chair of ASEAN. ASEAN, of which Myanmar is a member, has been leading peace efforts but some countries in the 10-nation bloc have become increasingly exasperated by the lack of progress by the junta implementing the plan, which includes engaging with opponents and a cessation of hostilities. read more https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/southeast-asian-ministers-meet-thursday-talks-myanmar-cambodia-2022-10-23/

Police investigations into plotting charges against former CNRP members, including Mu Sochua, relied mostly on their public Facebook posts and interviews with pro-opposition media Radio Free Asia. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court is trying 37 former CNRP leaders, members and activists for alleged plotting for allegedly participating in Sochua’s attempt to return to Cambodia in early 2021. The former CNRP vice president was attempting to attend a different mass trial involving her and other senior party officials. In earlier hearings, three defendants were questioned and judges revealed that another defendant was on bail because they had a mental health illness. On Thursday, judge Ouk Reth Kunthea asked the court clerk to read two reports from the anti-terrorism unit, which investigated the case. read more https://vodenglish.news/anti-terrorism-investigations-read-out-at-mu-sochua-mass-trial/

He said he would destroy the exiled opposition leader like he ‘destroyed’ the Khmer Rouge. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday said he would dissolve any political party that dares to associate with Sam Rainsy, a threat that opposition party officials believe indicates he is still afraid of the exiled opposition leader’s political clout ahead of the 2023 general elections. Sam Rainsy was a co-founder of the now banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP. He fled to France in 2015 to avoid various political charges his supporters say are politically motivated. In 2017, Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP, a move that allowed Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP, to capture every seat in the National Assembly in 2018 general elections. Hun Sen said he was not afraid of bloodshed and would beat down anyone who dared to stand up against him. “I succeeded in destroying the Khmer Rouge,” he said at a press conference in Kandal province, vowing to do the same to Sam Rainsy. “Now I appeal to the Khmer people who believe in this traitor – and any parties that want to associate with Sam Rainsy – we will file complaints against them to dissolve those parties,” he said. “The law states that we need to dissolve parties that commit crimes.” A former Khmer Rouge member himself, Hun Sen defected to Vietnam with a battalion under his command in 1977 and returned during that country’s 1979 invasion of Cambodia. Following the defeat of the Khmer Rouge government, Hanoi installed him as deputy prime minister. He then rose to become prime minister in 1985 and has ruled the country ever since. Leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) Sam Rainsy [center] arrives at a Paris courthouse for proceedings in a defamation lawsuit filed by Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, Sept. 1, 2022. Photo: AFP Hun Sen said he supported Wednesday’s decision by the Phnom Penh court to sentence Sam Rainsy to a life sentence and strip him of all political rights, on charges of conspiring to hand over Cambodian territory to a foreign state. "Cambodia doesn't have a law to execute prisoners, otherwise the court would have ordered the execution of Sam Rainsy,” he said. “People must understand this traitor’s behavior. People who are involved with these traitors will be punished, so please stay away." Hun Sen’s threats reveal that he himself still feels threatened by Sam Rainsy’s popularity, Um Sam An, a senior CNRP official, told RFA’s Khmer Service. “People, including the armed forces, continue to support Sam Rainsy, so Hun Sen is afraid of Sam Rainsy’s influence after he urged voters for a change in the 2023 election,” said Um Sam An. The court’s ability to dissolve a political party is an incorrect interpretation of the law, Kang Savang, an election monitor with the independent Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (Comfrel), told RFA. "Political parties are facing difficulties because of the law,” he said. “Their interpretation of the law is not clear, specifically over issues of national security and foreign collusion." Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/hun-sen-10202022171801.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

The Consulate General of Vietnam in Cambodia's Battambang Province has helped rescue 171 more Vietnamese citizens who were tricked into working for illegal businesses in Cambodia. The rescued citizens were working at the Cambodia-Thailand border, foreign ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said at a press meet Thursday. A total of around 270 Vietnamese citizens have been rescued from Cambodia since July, she added. Vietnam is supporting citizens in completing procedures and verifying identities to help bring them back to Vietnam, while cooperating with Cambodian authorities to search for more citizens and rescue them, Hang said. read more https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/171-more-vietnamese-workers-rescued-from-cambodia-4525947.html

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- A centuries-old sandstone Asura head statue has been discovered in front of the south gate of the Angkor Thom temple in Cambodia's famed Angkor Archaeological Park, the APSARA National Authority (ANA) said in a news release on Thursday. Asura is a demigod, titan or antigod, according to the context. They exist in both the Hindu and the Buddhist religions. Chhouk Somala, head of the registration team of the ANA's Department of Conservation of Monuments and Preventive Archaeology, said the Asura head statue was found on Wednesday at the location of the former souvenir stalls in front of the south gate of Angkor Thom. "At first, our team dug 30 to 40 cm deep and found three pieces of ancient stone, then they washed, and assembled them to become the Asura head," he said in the news release. The Asura head statue is 60 cm high, 65 cm wide, and 59 cm thick, he said, adding that the Bayon-style statue had been built simultaneously with the Bayon temple during the reign of Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century and early 13th century. Currently, the statue is being kept at the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum, he said, adding that the team will continue to find its original body. Located in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province, the 401-square km Angkor Archaeological Park, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1992, is the most popular tourist destination in the Southeast Asian nation. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ancient park attracted up to 2.2 million international tourists in 2019, earning a gross revenue of 99 million U.S. dollars from ticket sales, according to the state-owned Angkor Enterprise. The ANA said that tourists have started visiting the Angkor site again after the COVID-19 pandemic has waned. "This is a sign that the growth of tourists will return to normal after the absence of tourists for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic," the ANA said. https://english.news.cn/20221020/a0ddd1a1651b43c797101b4f936530c0/c.html

The much-anticipated launch of the Cambodia Climate Change Summit 2022 (CCCS22) got underway Monday evening, with a welcome reception that saw leading actors in both the public and private sectors meet to begin reflecting on the progress Cambodia has made towards climate-related issues. The official proceedings began Tuesday morning with opening remarks by H.E. Minister of Environment Say Samal, U.S. Ambassador Mr. W Partick Murphy, and Director General of Mekong Future Initiative Mr. Allen Dodgson Tan. “The United States is committed to leading and taking bold action to confront the climate crisis and strengthen energy security. At COP26, President Biden announced $3 billion in adaptation financing to reduce climate change impacts on those most vulnerable. Through regional initiatives under our Mekong-U.S. Partnership, we are expanding green energy solutions and working with regional officials to address waste management issues.” said Ambassador W. Patrick Murphy, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, “In Cambodia, the United States has invested over $100 million in foreign assistance focused on combating climate change, including facilitating the sale of more than $40 million in carbon credits to U.S. companies such as The Walt Disney Company and Delta Airlines. In the last five years, USAID Cambodia’s agriculture and environment activities have helped Cambodian farmers apply climate-smart agricultural practices and eliminated an estimated 25 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of taking almost five million cars off of the road for a year. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501171330/cambodia-climate-change-summit-2022-launches-in-siem-reap/

Germany contributed an additional €16 million to support the Cambodia Health Equity and Quality Improvement Programme (H-EQIP). The H-EQIP is considered a national lighthouse and a flagship health sector project in Cambodia that is highly valued by the Cambodian government. Martina Koch, Head of Division for Health and Social Protection for Asia from KfW Development Bank Headquarters, said: “The signing of these agreements symbolises our long-standing and trustful financial cooperation, and I am very proud to say Germany through KfW, in particular, has contributed to a remarkable progress of health outcomes and undeniably, the current proven success of fighting against COVID-19 pandemic.” The objective of H-EQIP is to contribute to the equitable use of quality health services for poor and vulnerable population groups and to intervene quickly and effectively in the event of a health crisis covered by the programme. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501170734/germany-contributes-e16m-to-strengthen-cambodias-health-sector/

CHAK COMMUNE, Tbong Khmum — Po Hin Lean had only been home from the north for three days when he was shot dead in a rice field in the darkness of the night. Footprints suggest he had been encircled. His corpse had bullet wounds in both thighs and his rear. The killing, which struck a rural Tbong Khmum village early Sunday morning, was likely at the hands of police, and appears to be related to small-scale illegal fishing in flooded rice fields. Six people — three police officers and three village guards — have been arrested pending negotiations with the victim’s wife, which may see them set free in exchange for compensation. Locals are shocked by the death, criticizing police over what they see as disproportionate, needless violence. But further complicating the incident is the victim’s known support for the political opposition — a topic that shuts down conversations in the farming village amid abrupt signs of fear. Gunshots Ven Kimyi, the victim’s wife, woke up at 5 a.m. Sunday to find his cousin asking after her husband. read more https://vodenglish.news/police-accused-of-gunning-down-farmer-as-political-questions-arise/

Critics say the Hun Sen regime used the courts as political tools against the opposition party co-founders. A court in Cambodia sentenced exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy to life in prison on the same day that it concluded two years of proceedings in the trial of his apparently estranged former ally Kem Sokha. The two opposition politicians in 2012 co-founded the Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP, which had been the country’s main opposition to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP, before it was legally dissolved in 2017. Sam Rainsy has lived in self-exile in France since 2015. Kem Sokha, who was arrested in 2017, has been on a trial that started in January 2020 in what critics say is the government’s attempt to keep him out of politics. Their time apart has apparently taken their toll on their relationship. Kem Sokha in June declared during a session of his trial that his alliance with Sam Rainsy was over, although Sam Rainsy was quick to dismiss the comments as the result of legal pressure. Wednesday’s life sentence against Sam Rainsy, handed down in absentia, was a result of his conviction in August, also in absentia, for trying to cede four Cambodian provinces to a foreign state. In addition to adding life to the 47 years he has already racked up in prior convictions, the court also removed all his political rights. Sam Rainsy's defense lawyer, Yong Phanith, said the latest verdict was based on insufficient evidence. The conviction and sentence are in connection with Sam Rainsy’s meeting in the United States in 2013 with the Montagnard Foundation, an organization that works to protect the rights of indigineous minorities in Vietnam, the Bangkok Post reported. Sam Rainsy promised to defend the rights of Cambodian indiginous people during the meeting. Speaking from France on Wednesday, Sam Rainsy told RFA that the sentence is an example of Hun Sen’s regime attempting to exact revenge on him for his acquittal earlier this month from defamation trials that Hun Sen and another Cambodian official filed in France. Both sides claimed victory in the defamation trials, with Hun Sen saying that they absolved him of crimes that Sam Rainsy alleged he committed. Sam Rainsy dismissed the charges and sentence as bogus. “I have not ceded territory to any country. I only recognized the rights of the indigenous people we call Khmer Leu in the Northeast of Cambodia,” he said of his 2013 meeting. “I just took the 2007 U.N. statement on the rights of indigenous people, and I said that in the future, when the country is a true democracy, we will respect the rights of indigenous people,” Sam Rainsy said. RFA was unable to contact the presiding judge of the case, Sin Sovannaroth, for comment. The sentence is politically motivated, social development monitor Seng Sary told RFA. “Hun Sen has been doing all this because he wants to kick Sam Rainsy out of politics,” He said. “That court case in France was like pouring gasoline on a fire.” The conviction and sentence were to be expected from the Cambodian legal system, veteran political analyst Lao Mong Hay told RFA. Authorities use the courts as tools for their political purposes. End in sight Kem Sokha on Wednesday asked the court during the 63rd session of his treason trial to issue a verdict and put an end to his suffering. He was previously under house arrest, but was released from that prior to this trial starting. He was arrested in 2017 after the CNRP performed well in local commune elections, and charged with treason. Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved and outlawed the party, which paved the way for the CPP to snag every seat in the country’s National Assembly in the 2018 general election. The ban on the CNRP kicked off a five-year crackdown on political opposition, with many of those affiliated with the party arrested and detained on charges like conspiracy, incitement, and treason. While the court finally decided to end questioning, it asked that any final submissions be made by Dec. 21. Defense lawyer Chan Chen welcomed the end of the proceedings but expressed regret that the 2-year-long would drag on another two months – and five years since his client’s arrest. Now that the trial has a definite ending date, national reconciliation is necessary, Yi Soksan, a senior official of the local Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (Adhoc) told RFA. "Both sides should find a common ground to negotiate an end to this political matter," he said. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/twotrials-10192022180438.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

The General Department of Prisons (GDP) reported that Cambodia’s prison population currently stands at 38,049 inmates of which 12,006 are being processed for release. The report also stated that for the year to August 2022, 134,350 inmates had been released from prisons with 1,895 having received vocational training in prison. GDP spokesman Lieutenant General Nuth Savna recently said the government has urged officials at relevant ministries and institutions to promote vocational training for all detainees in order to reduce crime in society. Lt Gen Savna added that according to research by GDP, out of 12,006 inmates who have received vocational training, only 98 inmates failed rehabilitated and were sent back to prison. He added that of the 38,059 prisoners who received no vocational training 4,445 prisoners returned to a life of crime, which is 12% to 14% of the totals. “In order to facilitate the release of prisoners, relevant institutions such as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health and its partner organisations must work together and try to train and encourage them to change their way of life,” Lt Gen Savna said. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501170558/inmate-numbers-increase/

Civil society organisation officials have urged the government to show greater responsibility in the boating tragedy which claimed 11 children’s lives in Kandal’s Loeuk Dek district. Am Sam Ath, spokesman for the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (LICADHO) said the government must be held accountable for the death of the children because the relevant officials did not do their job properly. “A governmental institution is responsible for licensing and monitoring boating operations in the country, and it should not allow any operation to carry on if they find that the boat has a problem.” “The local authorities must be held responsible because part of their job is to ensure the safety of the people, both on land and water,” he said. He said he hoped the tragedy will serve as a big lesson for the government and will trigger positive changes. Plan International Cambodia deputy country director Yi Kimthan said what happened to the children in the boat tragedy in Kandal province was a violation of children’s right to living and protection. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501170625/responsibility-for-kandal-tragedy-lies-with-govt/

Widow also wants justice, and urges police to arrest suspect who shot dead her husband. The wife of a slain supporter of Cambodia’s Candlelight Party said Tuesday she has rejected a compensation offer of U.S. $7,000 from the alleged assailant in exchange for dropping the criminal case, but has said she would consider accepting a larger sum because she doesn’t have money for her husband’s funeral. Wen Kimyi also urged police to arrest the suspect who shot dead her husband, 49-year-old Po Hin Lean, early in the morning of Oct. 16 while he was on his way to go fishing. She told RFA that police in Ou Reang Ov district of Chak commune in Tbong Khmum province, where her family lives, summoned her to the police station and told her that the suspect offered to pay her if she would drop charges. The widow said she wants the money, but that her family also wants justice. “The police said there were two suspects, one of whom had the gun that killed him,” Wen Kimyi said. “I didn’t get a chance to see the suspect to ask [the reasons]. I will accept the compensation because I don’t have money for the funeral. But I won’t accept $7,000; I will need $15,000.” Police told her that the suspect is a “security guard” or “neighborhood watchman” for the commune, but declined to disclose where he put the weapon or his motive for the shooting. Cambodia’s Ministry of the Interior established a network of such local guards to provide security to villagers in communes and districts, though they are not supposed to carry weapons. RFA could not reach Vong Sophy, the police chief of Ou Reang Ov district, or On Sam On, police chief of Chak commune for comment on Tuesday. 'Embarrassing for the authorities' Leng Seng Han, a provincial coordinator for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, also known as ADHOC, said the murder cannot be resolved through compensation and that the suspect must be brought to justice. “It is wrong for [police] to be involved in meditation outside the court,” he said. Eng Sroy, a Police Academy lecturer and president of the Candlelight Party working group in Tbong Khmum province, said he is dismayed that authorities have not yet apprehended the suspects and urged them to conduct a transparent investigation to show they are providing good security. “It is embarrassing for the authorities if they can’t arrest the suspects,” he said. “The authorities must differentiate between black and white and remain neutral during the investigation.” There have been numerous physical attacks this year on activists and supporters of the Candlelight Party, an opposition party that emerged from the ashes of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was banned and dissolved by Cambodia’s Supreme Court in November 2017. This April, Candlelight Party candidate Khorn Tun was attacked by unidentified men who threw rocks at her home in Tbong Khmum province during the campaign period for local elections held in June. Prak Seyha, a party youth leader for Phnom Penh’s Kamboul district, was attacked and beaten by a mob. Those incidents followed the death of Phnom Penh Candlelight candidate Choeun Sarim, who was attacked from behind and killed in traffic while riding a motorbike, following threats and assaults. The killing of the man in this case, Po Hin Lean, came a day before Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to arrest Sam Rainsy, head of the banned CNRP, who has lived in exile in France since 2015, if he returns to Cambodia. Sam Rainsy, 73, was sentenced in absentia in March 2021 to 25 years in jail for what supporters say was a politically motivated charge of attempting to overthrow the government. Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, made the comment at a graduation ceremony where he spoke, in response to recent remarks by Sam Rainsy criticizing the strongman’s plans to appoint his son, Hun Manet, as his replacement. Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/opposition-widow-10182022173945.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Latest submissions Cambodia: Return To Seoul (Davy Chou) Inspired by the director’s own life as a French-born Cambodian, the country’s 11th Oscar submission follows a French woman who returns to Korea for the first time since being adopted as a baby. The film had its world premiere at Cannes in Un Certain Regard and also screened at Busan, Zurich, New York, Toronto, and Athens, where it won best picture. Return To Seoul stars Park Ji-Min in the lead and the rest of the cast includes Oh Kwang-Rok, Kim Sun-Young, Guka Han, Yoann Zimmer and Louis-Do De Lencquesaing. It was produced by France’s Aurora Films in co-production with Cambodia’s Anti-Archive, Germany’s Vandertastic Films and Belgium’s Frakas Pictures. Sony Pictures Classics is distributing the title in the US, Latin America, Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand. Cambodia’s only nomination so far is 2013’s The Missing Picture by Rithy Panh. International sales: mk2 read more https://www.screendaily.com/news/oscars-2023-cambodia-selects-cannes-title-return-to-seoul/5173253.article

On all the maps I have looked at, the bridge between Lanta and Lanta Noi already exists. Am I wrong ? The new bridge would connect Krabi and Lanta Noi, right?

by Keat Soriththeavy and Fiona Kelliher ROLEA BA’IER DISTRICT, Kampong Chhnang — Four years ago, Vuen Phouk Thoung was promised a plot of land in a new neighborhood and a garment factory job nearby. Now his home is submerged in floodwater so high he spends all day and night in a hammock suspended from the ceiling. “I don’t know what to do now,” said Thoung, 35, as he sat cross-legged on the wooden plank he constructed to swim in and out of his house. “I’ll just live like this, here.” Thoung lives on a 40-hectare site in Kampong Chhnang where about 150 ethnic Vietnamese families were relocated after being evicted from their floating homes on the Tonle Sap starting in 2018. Ethnic Vietnamese people number an estimated 400,000 in Cambodia, but many lack citizenship rights and are unable to own property or access public services, according to Minority Rights Group International. All around Thoung, houses were filled with dirty floodwater about 2 meters high. Children floated in rubber barrels, surrounded by piles of trash and in one case, a small dead animal. Families had rigged elaborate rope systems to keep their belongings safe on their second floors, but a motorcycle, children’s bikes and a ceiling fan were floating in the water anyway. read more https://vodenglish.news/sunken-village-after-evictions-ethnic-vietnamese-homes-underwater/

PHNOM PENH, Oct 17 (Phnom Penh Post/ANN): More than 1,000 followers of League for Democracy Party (LDP) president Khem Veasna, whose doomsday prediction drew thousands of his supports to his plantation in Siem Reap province to escape the purported apocalypse, have refused to leave, according to provincial police chief Teng Channath. Channath said such a mass gathering needs permission from the local authorities. “Entering the plantation is forbidden unless Khem Veasna, or an LDP representative, submits a letter seeking permission from the authorities,” he said, adding that the letter needs to state the reasons for the gathering in order to comply with the law on assemblies by political parties. He said the fact that Veasna’s supporters refuse to leave the plantation has prompted the authorities to implement measures to prevent new people from gathering there. Channath said authorities are not allowing any more people to enter the plantation because they need to maintain the wellbeing of children and the elderly who are living at the location already. read more https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2022/10/17/cambodia-over-1000-doomsday-believers-still-refuse-to-leave-siem-reap-plantation

Po Hin Lean was shot on his way to go fishing in the early hours Sunday. A supporter of Cambodia’s Candlelight Party was shot dead in Tbong Khmum province over the weekend, the latest in a series of attacks on the opposition in a year of local elections and campaigning for 2023 parliamentary voting, his wife and supporters said Monday. Candlelight Party’s vice-chairman Thach Setha told RFA that he could not yet conclude whether the killing Sunday of Po Hin Lean, a 49-year-old father of three, was a political assassination. He urged authorities in the province’s Orang Ov district to conduct a prompt investigation. “A clear investigation must be conducted to catch the perpetrators and bring them to justice, to stop such killing whether it happens to political activists or [ordinary] people,” said Thach Setha. Police chief On Sam On of Chak commune, where Po Hin Lean lived, refused to provide any details on the case when contacted by RFA Khmer. Orang Ov authorities were not available and provincial police chief Mon Meakara hung up the phone after receiving a call from RFA. "Who shot my husband?" asked Wen Kimyi, the victim’s wife. “The police officer said the village security guard was the shooter. I said it was not the village security guard who fired, because the village security guard did not have a gun. The policeman said he had a gun, so he did not talk to me further,” she added. This year has seen a rise in violent attacks targeting activists and supporters of the Candlelight Party, an opposition party that emerged this year from the ashes of the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was banned and dissolved by the country’s supreme court in 2017. In April, during campaigning for June local elections, Candlelight Party candidate Khorn Tun was attacked by unidentified men who threw rocks at her home in Tabaung Khmom province, while Prak Seyha — a party youth leader for Phnom Penh’s Kambol district — was attacked and beaten by a mob. Those incidents followed the death of Phnom Penh Candlelight candidate Choeun Sarim, who was attacked from behind and killed in traffic while traveling by motorbike, following threats and assaults. The latest attack came a day before Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to arrest opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who has lived in exile in France since 2015, the moment he returns to Cambodia. Sam Rainsy, 73, was sentenced in absentia in March 2021 to 25 years in jail for what supporters say was a politically motivated charge of attempting to overthrow the government. Speaking at a graduation ceremony for students at a university in Phnom Penh on October 17. Hun Sun said he would “eliminate the three generations of the ideology of the contemptible traitor [Sam Rainsy]...but I will not kill you." Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, was responding to recent remarks by Sam Rainsy criticizing the strongman’s plans to appoint his son, Hun Manet, as his replacement. “I believe there will be strong opposition to Hun Sen's transfer of power to his dynasty. We want a succession of young Cambodians who are capable and accomplished, but we do not want a succession of clans in a family that is above everyone else and that has the right to rule Cambodia forever, ” Sam Rainsy said in a video. Sam Rainsy and other exiled members of the CNRP have tried to return to Cambodia on several occasions. The acting CNRP leader tried to return on Nov. 9, 2019 to lead nonviolent protests against Hun Sen, urging Cambodian migrant workers abroad and members of the military to join him. However, his plan to enter Cambodia from Thailand was thwarted when he was refused permission to board a Thai Airways plane in Paris. Score of CNRP activists were arrested and jailed in the aftermath. “The CNRP is still determined to return to Cambodia as long as there is an opening from Hun Sen, but in fact he does not dare to open up the way for Sam Rainsy and CNRP leaders to return to Cambodia as he did in the past,” said Oum Sam An, a former CNRP lawmaker. Translated by Sok-Ry Som. Written by Nawar Nemeh. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/opposition-death-10172022181913.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

The Traffic Police and Public Order Department of the General Commission of the National Police has requested that citizens who use the new Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway refrain from taking selfies in the road, as this may cause accidents. Colonel Van Havari, deputy director of the Traffic Police and Public Order Department, who is in charge of the expressway, appealed to all people traveling on the expressway, to not stop to take pictures on the road for fear of accidents. He asked people to go to the parking lot at the rest area (Rest Area) and not to park in the emergency lane if they do not have an issue with their vehicle. The Colonel added that authorities helped people in need of emergency in three cases on October 15, 2022 He stated that the three cases involved engine problems and flat tires. read more + picture https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501169119/stop-taking-selfies-on-new-phnom-penh-sihanoukville-expressway-say-authorities/

Cambodians paid homage to King Father Norodom Sihanouk on Saturday, October 15, the 10th anniversary of his death. Ceremonies were held at memorials and statues dedicated to the man who was not only royalty but a statesman first and a politician second. King Father Sihanouk is highly respected and revered for his sacrifices for the Kingdom, Prime Minister Hun Sen took to his Facebook page on Saturday to express his “sincere gratitude” to the late king who died aged 91 of natural causes in Beijing. Mr Hun Sen said he will never forget the sacrifices of the late King Father for “the nation and neither will Cambodian people of all walks of life”. “October 15, 10 years ago, was the saddest time for the whole Cambodian nation, because it was the time of the loss of one of the great kings, His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk,” Mr Hun Sen said. At the Royal Palace, King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Monineath Norodom Sihanouk conducted a Remembrance Day ceremony to honour King Father Sihanouk. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501169267/kingdom-pays-tribute-to-king-father-norodom-sihanouk/

Up to 12 refugees with UN status were detained at a market, accused of illegal entry to Thailand. Thai immigration police on Friday arrested as many as 12 Khmer Krom refugees found working illegally in Thailand, taking them to a detention center for processing and trial for entering the country without permission, sources told RFA. The group, including seven men and five women, were taken into custody at a vegetable market in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok, said another member of the ethnic minority group who escaped arrest because she had arrived late for work. “I got there about five minutes late — otherwise I would also have been detained,” the woman, who only gave her name as Chanthy, said, adding that when she arrived she saw four uniformed Thai police officers put the 12 refugees into a police van and take them away. However, an immigration officer said there were only 10 detainees – five Vietnamese nationals and five Cambodian nationals – who were arrested and charged with illegal entry, overstaying their visa or working without a permit. The officer was not permitted to speak publicly with journalists and asked not to be named. The group are now being held by Pathum Thani immigration police. The refugee agency UNHCR is working with Thai authorities for their release, said Lim Keo Samnang, president of the Khmer Krom Refugee Association in Thailand, amid concerns they could face deportation and persecution. The immigration officer told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news service, that all the detainees have UNHCR-issued cards but were arrested because they lack travel documents and have broken Thai laws. He said the police are stepping up security measures ahead of Thailand hosting a high-profile APEC summit of Asia-Pacific leaders next month. Khmer Krom, ethnic Khmer who live in a part of Vietnam that was once southeastern Cambodia, face widespread discrimination in Vietnam and suspicion in Cambodia, where they are often perceived not as Cambodians but as Vietnamese. Scores of Khmer Krom asylum seekers reside in Thailand. Chanthy, the woman who narrowly escaped arrest, called on refugee assistance groups to urge Thai authorities to release all Khmer Krom detained in Thailand. “One is my own son-in-law, whose wife has a 5-month-old baby who needs a father,” she said. A Khmer Krom refugee named Si Veth, who escaped from Vietnam to Thailand five years ago, said her father and mother were among the group arrested Friday. “They had only wanted to work there to earn money because they are living as refugees in Thailand, where it is difficult to find a legal job,” she said. Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Written in English by Richard Finney. BenarNews journalist Pimuk Rakkanam in Bangkok contributed. This story has been updated to add sourcing from a Thai immigration official and to replace the original photo that was published in error. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/police-10142022155205.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Authorities have detained two owners and the 15-year-old operator of a boat that sank, killing 11 children, Cambodian police said Saturday. The small boat -- carrying students ages 12-15 back from an English class -- went down in the Mekong River late Thursday, floundering roughly 50 meters from its destination in southeastern Kandal province. Local police chief Am Thou told AFP that three individuals had been detained for questioning over the incident. "They may have to face legal action. We are looking into what charges they may face," he said. The police chief added that the three had been sent to Kandal provincial police headquarters, where their next steps would be determined. Local officials called off the search for survivors Saturday morning, with the death toll rising to 11. Two adult boat operators and two students were rescued Friday. Prime Minister Hun Sen warned people to be cautious during the heavy flooding that has raised the Mekong River's levels. Such incidents are common in the Southeast Asian country, where people living along the river are often reliant on boats for transport. https://www.voanews.com/a/detained-over-cambodian-boat-accident-that-killed-11-/6791096.html

Ten students drowned and another remains missing after a boat ferrying them home from school sank Thursday in the Khouk River in Cambodia’s southern Kandal province, sources in the country told RFA. The Kandal police confirmed Friday that authorities rescued four students from the Khouk, a tributary of the Mekong River, and are still searching for the missing student. They found the bodies of the other 10 students who drowned and estimated that they were all about 10 years old. Kandal Provincial Police Commissioner Chhoeun Socheat told RFA’s Khmer Service that the boat was very small and that it sank at around 7 p.m. on October 13. According to preliminary conclusions, the boat likely sank due to overcrowding, he said. Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed his condolences over the incident on Facebook, but stopped short of calling for an investigation. “The relevant authorities must continue to search for the victims and help with the victims’ funerals and offer services needed,” he said. “To those who live along the rivers, please be vigilant, especially during flooding.” Cambodia is in the final weeks of its rainy season, which lasts from May to October. Coffin of a child, a victim of a boat accident, is transported in a ferry during a funeral procession in Koh Chamroeun village, east of Phnom Penh, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Ten students drowned and another remains missing after a boat ferrying them to school sunk in a river in Cambodia’s southern Kandal province, sources in the country told RFA. Photo:AP Kandal Provincial Governor Kong Sophoan told RFA that as of Friday night, the missing victim has not yet been found. He blamed the boat operators for their carelessness and said the boat was very old. “The boat operators lack experience, he said. “Authorities are investigating the incident.” Though authorities must ensure a boat is in good condition in order for owners to legally operate it, he acknowledged that loopholes exist. The 10 students were kind, smart and diligent, and were working hard to learn both in Khmer and English, Rong Chhun, the former president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association and president of the Cambodian Trade Union Confederation, told RFA. “Those were active children who really paid attention to their studies. They had to cross the river from their houses to study on the other side,” he said. “They were dedicated hard-working kids. I am deeply saddened." UNICEF wrote a message of condolence on Facebook that also called on the public to refrain from sharing pictures and video of the incident on social media because it could cause distress for friends and family. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/boat-10142022173326.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036