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Thai suspects — including a major trafficker wanted for killing a Thai police officer — arrested in a drugs raid that led to a fatal shootout and the seizure of 40 kg of drugs have now been provisionally charged with drug trafficking, police said. The anti-drugs department launched a crackdown on four Thai suspects in Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changva commune on August 31. When the suspects fought back, police fired on the suspects, killing one and injuring another, police said. Meas Vyrith, secretary-general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, said the police had no plan to open fire, but the suspects disregarded officers’ orders and had shot at them. “We instructed them to put their hands up, but they didn’t put them up. They raised a weapon instead. So we have to use weapons in return,” he said, explaining that there was only one gun among the four suspects. Vyrith added no officers were injured in the exchange. An anti-drugs department statement says police seized 41 kg in total: 12 kg of ketamine and 29 kg of methamphetamines. The injured suspect was the mastermind of the operation, known as a major drug trafficker in Thailand and facing several arrest warrants including for the murder of a Thai police officer. read more https://vodenglish.news/suspects-sent-to-court-after-drugs-shootout-that-killed-one-injured-one/

A gathering to wait for the end of the world is effectively over even as around 1,000 supporters remain inside politician Khem Veasna’s farm, officials said. Veasna had predicted floods that would wipe out Earth except his farm, drawing thousands of devotees to his Siem Reap property.Authorities last week set a 5:30 p.m. Monday deadline for Veasna’s doomsday gathering to disband, and said today that they had needed to take no action as the moment had passed and the situation settled. Siem Reap deputy provincial governor Ly Samreth said around 6 p.m. that authorities had gone inside the farm on Monday and took names and headcounts. There were around 1,000 people still inside, but they were regular supporters of Veasna’s League for Democracy Party and not a threat. “There is no more gathering based on belief [in the end of the world.] It’s already over,” Samreth said, adding that authorities would continue to monitor the situation. read more https://vodenglish.news/authorities-say-situation-stable-as-deadline-passes-at-politicians-doomsday-farm/

Taiwanese prosecutors allege ransom and electric shocks at Cambodian compounds, Malaysian media report a holidayer allegedly kidnapped then sold into scam work, and a Vietnamese newspaper says 10 countries are pressing Cambodia to cooperate on human trafficking. Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam have each suggested that thousands of their nationals could be stuck in illegal Cambodian scam operations, according to regional media whose coverage of scams and trafficking in Cambodia has escalated in recent weeks. Cambodian authorities have pledged action against the human trafficking, and have rescued hundreds of victims and arrested managers and drivers. They have also promised action against the owners of trafficking compounds, though there has so far been little acknowledgement of the massive global scam industry that has taken root in the country. read more https://vodenglish.news/accounts-of-trafficking-in-cambodia-escalate-in-regional-media/

Five Cambodian dishes being displayed at the International Gastronomy Village 2022 in Paris, France have won praise and support from the visitors. Ms Sun Soveasna, Minister Counselor of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in France in charge of Diplomatic Economy, shared her excitement and pride with the Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP). “Our five dishes, including Num Banchok (Khmer traditional noodles), Amok (Cambodian national dish usually made with fish steamed in banana leaves), grilled beef, Num Kang (Cambodian donut) and Num Ansam (Cambodian traditional rice cake with pork or banana) ), are very popular among the visitors, whether Cambodians or French or other nationals, ”she said with delight. On the occasion, Cambodian chefs made a presentation on Amok, whose recipe is excerpted from The Taste of Angkor, awarded with Gourmand World Cookbook Awards for two consecutive years (2021 and 2022). In addition to the five dishes, milled rice, Kampong Speu palm sugar, and Kampot pepper are also exhibited so that foreigners know more about Cambodian products. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501144342/cambodian-cuisine-appreciated-at-international-gastronomy-village-in-paris/

BANGKOK — Fifty-nine Thais were removed from scam operations in Cambodia in simultaneous raids on two compounds this week — including 40 from the Kandal facility where Vietnamese nationals last month made a dramatic escape swimming across a river, Thai police said Friday. One of the raids occurred at a scam hotspot Sihanoukville, where 19 people were rounded up working for an investment fraud scheme causing damage over 50 million baht, or about $1.4 million. Another 40 were arrested from a phone scam operation in Chrey Thom, Kandal province, that had caused damage of approximately over 100 million baht, about $2.7 million. Both raids took place on Monday. Thai deputy police commissioner Damrongsak Kittiprapat said in a press conference in Bangkok that the raids were a satisfying result following an agreement recently signed by both Thai and Cambodian officials aiming to increase cooperation between the two countries as scam-related crime spiked. read more https://vodenglish.news/40-thais-removed-from-kandal-river-escape-casino/

Cambodia’s Metta forest has been devastated by deforestation as the government gives away land to the elite, with villagers’ protests quashed by violence The monk looks haggard in the midmorning sun, scanning the views through surrounding trees while chainsaws drone in the near distance. “It’s as if a storm has come and the animals have fled like there has been a hurricane,” he says from his sparse, open-air pagoda in the woods. “Now everything is destroyed, I don’t see a reason why I should stay.” With the early stages of a grey beard, the venerable Buddhist monk Prom Socheat draws in his orange robes as he tells of the loss of his home, where he has lived in hermitage for about 20 years in these once-dense tropical woodlands called the Metta forest, in Cambodia’s Kampong Speu province. But in August 2021, as Cambodia’s once-vast, formally protected woodlands continued to disappear at one of the world’s highest rates of deforestation, the country’s environmental crises landed on the monk’s doorstep. https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3191139/it-can-be-pretty-horrifying-how-cambodias-land

PETALING JAYA - More than 100 Malaysians working for syndicates in Cambodia have been rescued by the Malaysian embassy there since 2018, says Malaysian Ambassador to Cambodia Eldeen Husaini Mohd Hashim. It has not been an easy feat as the embassy also had to go through procedures set by the Cambodian government before these Malaysians could be flown home. There is also another side of the story. Some of the Malaysians had refused to be rescued or leave Cambodia. "We have rescued many but many also don't want to go back to Malaysia. Some of them ran away from home, some ran away from 'ah long' (loanshark). "Sometimes they don't want to tell their parents the truth. "When the parents don't know what to do, they create stories that their children got kidnapped and were forced to work but when we went to rescue them, they said they don't want to go back," said Mr Eldeen. read more https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysian-envoy-reveals-bizarre-cases-of-job-scam-victims-in-cambodia

Chhouk Bandith was convicted of shooting 3 female garment workers in 2012. Unions and NGOs criticized Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government for promoting a former district governor convicted of shooting three female garment workers a decade ago to a senior position in the Interior Ministry. A decree dated March 18 promoting Chhouk Bandith, the former governor of Bavet city in Svay Rieng province, to the senior ranks of government was released publicly on Thursday. The decree did not state his new position. Chhouk Bandith was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay 38 million riel (U.S. $9,500) in compensation to the victims, who had been protesting poor factory conditions in February 2012 when they were wounded in the shooting. Rong Chhun, president of the independent Cambodian Confederation of Unions, said Chhouk Bandith’s promotion might encourage others to use violence to quell criticism. “This is a bad example for our society because Chhouk Bandith committed many bad acts,” he told RFA. “We don’t want to see this promotion happen in Cambodia.” Ny Sokha, president of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, an NGO, also urged the ministry to reconsider. “Senior officials must set a good example for younger generations,” he said. “Will this promotion of a former convict be a good example?” Chhouk Bandith remained at large for a time after his conviction, prompting rights groups to speculate that he was under the protection of top officials. In November 2013, an appeals court upheld his 18-month jail sentence and the restitution to the garment workers, according to an earlier RFA report. He later turned himself in after Hun Sen ordered his capture, served time in jail, and was released in 2015. RFA could not reach government spokesman Phay Siphan on Friday for comment on the ex-governor’s new role in the ministry. Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/chhouk-bandith-09022022163045.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

PHNOM PENH / WASHINGTON — After months of mounting reports of workers from across Asia being trafficked into Chinese cybercrime rings operating in Cambodia, the government finally conceded last week that a more aggressive approach to the problem was in order. Interior Minister Sar Kheng said on August 22 that officials were being deployed across the country to check hotels, casinos and other establishments for potential trafficking victims, and that some suspected traffickers had already been arrested in the sweeps. Sar Kheng’s comments came shortly after Taiwan complained that more than 300 of its nationals were being held captive in Cambodia after being lured into supposedly high-paying tech jobs, only to end up at call centers seeking to defraud Chinese targets. But that was just the latest missive from foreign governments raising concern about their citizens being trapped in Chinese-run scams based in Cambodia. Indonesia requested a meeting over its citizens being trafficked into Cambodia on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in early August, and then announced last week that it had repatriated 241 Indonesians trafficked by online scammers, and blocked another 214 potential victims from traveling to Cambodia. Since the start of August, the Philippines urged Cambodian authorities to rescue four nationals being held in a casino complex in Koh Kong province. More than 40 Vietnamese nationals escaped from a casino in Kandal province and swam across the Binh Di River into Vietnam. And Hong Kong officials said 10 of its citizens were still stuck in Cambodia. Cambodia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Chum Sounry said in the last six months, it has received requests for intervention in forced labor cases from at least nine embassies, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand. And the Interior Ministry said about 900 foreign citizens have been rescued from trafficking rings so far this year. Cambodia has long had a problem with its own citizens being trafficked into slave-like conditions in nearby countries like Thailand and Indonesia. But working to stamp out foreign-run trafficking rings within its border is a new phenomenon, and Phnom Penh’s ability to disrupt the criminal networks could have wide reaching consequences for its economy and regional standing, experts told VOA Khmer. FILE - Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, Assistant to Thai Police Commissioner speaks to Thai victims rescued from scam call centres in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in this undated handout picture released by Thai police on April 12, 2022. Jason Tower, the Burma country director for the United States Institute of Peace, said Chinese criminal networks have expanded their footprints in relatively lawless pockets of Southeast Asia in recent years, including Cambodia, northern Myanmar and Laos. A crackdown on online gambling in China pushed many nefarious actors out of China and into relatively unregulated areas of Southeast Asia, he said, and then COVID-19 suddenly halted the flow of labor, tourists and gamblers from China, forcing what were effectively organized crime rings to seek other sources of income. In Cambodia, Hun Sen’s government announced its own ban on online gambling operations in 2019, forcing some Chinese investors in the sector to come up with alternate business plans. Chinese embassies across the region began reporting an uptick in kidnappings of Chinese nationals early in the pandemic, Tower said, soon followed by reports of trafficking, abuse and enslavement of victims from countries across the region. “As the pandemic went along, more and more evidence that this is really a regional crisis came to light,” Tower said, “that this was a very much the…work of transnational criminal groups who are trafficking people across borders, holding them in these zones in slave like labor conditions and forcing them either to perpetrate scams or to pay up in large amounts of money to secure their freedom.” News outlets including Al Jazeera have detailed horrific abuse being perpetrated by Chinese captors in Cambodia, from brutal beatings to terrorizing victims with tasers and electric batons and sexually assaulting trafficked women. Victims are often held in heavily guarded compounds with razor wires or bars to keep people from coming or going. And those being trafficked are often fairly well-educated, as the scams they are being forced to carry out generally require good language skills — often Chinese — and the ability to follow scripts used to dupe unexpecting victims on the other end of the scam. The scams being carried out range from “pig butchering,” in which a mark is wooed into a romantic relationship to share bank details; seeking investors in fraudulent schemes; selling membership to fake sex clubs and posing as government officials to request unpaid fees or fines. FILE - Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, Assistant to Thai Police Commissioner speaks to Thai victims rescued from scam call centres in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in this undated handout picture released by Thai police on April 12, 2022. Confronted with evidence of the trafficking rings operating in Cambodia, ruling party officials have generally denied that it’s a widespread problem, and even accused the alleged victims of lying in order to break their employment obligations. While it’s unclear how much Sar Kheng’s speech last week will disrupt the illegal operations, it’s at least a sign that Cambodia is responding to the mounting concern from its neighbors, unlike nearby Myanmar, where the problem is even worse and the junta is both complicit, and unwilling to confront it, said Tower. “It does seem that following a bit of international pressure, that you're starting now to see Cambodian authorities come out of it at least saying ‘yeah, look, we're doing some things. We're taking some steps to address this,’” he said. Cambodia has already faced global fallout from its failure to confront new trends in human trafficking. Cambodia was downgraded to Tier 3 in the U.S. State Department’s latest Trafficking in Persons report, meaning the government does not meet minimum standards in its efforts to combat human trafficking and “are not making significant efforts to do so.” “Authorities did not investigate or hold criminally accountable any officials involved in the large majority of credible reports of complicity, in particular with unscrupulous business owners who subjected thousands of men, women, and children throughout the country to human trafficking in entertainment establishments, brick kilns, and online scam operations,” the report said. According to Al Jazeera’s reporting, in the case of Chinese online scamming rings, those official connections reach high up in the ruling party, with some of the tycoons linked to the facilities housing the illegal operations linked to a nephew and advisor of Prime Minister Hun Sen. And despite some of the Chinese investors behind these facilities being convicted of financial crimes in China, they have been welcomed to do business in Cambodia. Chou Bun Eng, a senior Interior Ministry official who heads Cambodia’s National Committee for Counter-Trafficking, did not respond to a request for comment for this story. She previously told VOA Khmer that while individuals rescued in Cambodia were “victims of online deception…we can’t say all the cases are human trafficking related.” She told the South China Morning Post that “Cambodia is the victim country” regarding the Chinese syndicates. “These are foreigners using our territory to commit crimes against other foreigners. We do not have the capacity to respond to every report of crime, but we rescue victims when we can,” she was quoted in the Hong Kong newspaper as saying. The consequences for Cambodia if it fails to rein in the trafficking networks could be severe, said Am Sam Ath, deputy director of Licadho, a local rights group. “If Cambodia doesn’t have commitment and high willingness [to crack down on scammers], it will affect the image of Cambodia, investment, tourism due to security and safety,” he told VOA Khmer. He added Cambodia should strengthen and cooperate with neighboring countries to curb the flow of labor forces into trafficking in Cambodia. Vitit Muntarbhorn, the new United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Cambodia, spoke last week about the worrying trend of cyber scams and human trafficking during his first visit in the role to the country. He also emphasized cooperation with countries where the victims were coming from, as well as training of Cambodian officials to improve their ability to identify victims and develop creative methods of gathering information on the scamming rings. “We need something more specialized and with a certain capacity and resourcefulness,” Vitit Muntarbhorn said. https://www.voacambodia.com/a/global-pressure-mounts-on-cambodia-over-chinese-trafficking-scamming-rings/6728810.html

Some had been working at a casino accused of beating and illegally detaining workers. Cambodia has repatriated 26 Vietnamese citizens including 11 who were working at the Rich World casino in Kandal province, which was accused of luring foreign workers into forced labor involving online scams. The 26 were handed over to Vietnamese authorities at the Tinh Bien International Border Gate between Vietnam’s An Giang province and Cambodia’s Takeo province. They came from Vietnam’s northern and central provinces, the Central Highlands and the southwest region, according to Lt. Col. Tran Hoa Hiep, head of the Border Guard Station Border guards handed the 26 over to An Giang Provincial Police’s Immigration Department for further investigation. State media said the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh helped secure the return of the 26 citizens. The embassy said that more than 600 Vietnamese had been tricked into going to Cambodia on the promise of "light work and a high salary." In reality they were sold into forced labor and exploited, leading many to seek outside help or try to escape. The Consular Department of Vietnam’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the number of applications for consular certification to allow its citizens to work abroad rose by as much as 300% in recent months, state media reported. The department warned people to be wary of “scammers and fraud.” Screen Grabs from a video posted Aug. 18, showing (left) casino workers running out of a Chinese-operated casino in Cambodia's Kandal province and (right) jumping into a river bordering Vietnam. CREDIT: VnExpress Cambodian casino escape Last month a video showing more than 40 Vietnamese workers escaping from the Rich World casino complex in Cambodia’s Kandal province went viral. The video, posted on Vietnamese news site VnExpress on Aug. 18, showed men and women jumping into a river bordering the two countries, chased by guards swinging metal rods. A 16-year-old from Vietnam’s Gia Lai province was found dead in the river the online site reported. At a news conference on Aug. 18 Cambodia’s Interior Minister Sar Kheng said the government’s mission was to rescue the victims and bring the ringleader to justice,” adding that authorities had arrested “a ringleader or manager.” However, he claimed allegations of human trafficking and forced labor at the casino were only “partly true,” saying the workers ran away after “arguing over salary or other issues.” Two of the workers who escaped told VnExpress they were tricked into working at the casino. One woman said employees had to create fake social media profiles and persuade people to pay to join a bogus dating site or face beatings. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/cambodia-returns-26-vietnamese-09022022005320.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

A mother yesterday told an increasingly common story about her 18 year old daughter – who dropped out of her scholarship studies 7 months ago and disappeared – and has now been located at the farmhouse of Doomsday movement leader Khem Veasna in Siem Reap province. Fresh News reports that Ms. Kong Chantho, the girl’s mother, said that her 18-year-old daughter was an outstanding student with a B-level exam and passed the scholarship exam at Pannasastra University. However, the girl disappeared from Phnom Penh 7 months ago. Ms. Kong Chantho stated that she and her family were shocked when they lost their daughter and tried to find her. Then, one day, she saw her daughter in a video sitting in the field listening to Khem Veasna – a self appointed brahma or ‘heavenly king’ – speak. Mr Khem has gathered an estimated 20,000 followers to his compound at the foothills of Kulen mountain, after prophesying that an apocalyptic flood that would engulf the planet – except for his farmhouse. After seeing the video, Ms. Kong Chantho went to Mr. Khem’s farm, but has not seen her child yet. She has been waiting for her daughter at the farm for more than 10 days. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501143848/families-divided-mother-describes-how-missing-teen-was-enlisted-in-doomsday-group/

The Royal Government of Cambodia has announced a new scheme which will grant long term foreign residents a free yearly visit to the famed Angkor complex. The news came via the Angkor Institute, who say that The Royal Government of Cambodia has granted permission for foreigners or investors who stay in the country to apply for a visit to the Angkor and Koh Ker temples once a year, free of charge. The announcement stated that in order to promote domestic tourism as well as provide incentives to foreigners staying in Cambodia, the Royal Government has decided that all foreigners who have been staying in the Kingdom of Cambodia – Diplomats, investors, international organizations, foreigners working in companies and private enterprises of all kinds, experts working in ministries, public and private institutions, as well as families – for 2 years or more can apply for a pass to the Angkor and Koh Ker temples once a year, free of charge from September 1, 2022 onwards. The annual application form for Angkor and Koh Ker Free Tickets can be obtained online (via the Angkor Institution website or spass.angkorenterprise.gov.kh) from September 9 2022 or apply directly at Angkor Institution during working hours. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501143834/free-visit-to-angkor-for-long-term-foreign-residents/

Around 3 hectares of Phnom Penh’s rapidly disappearing Boeng Tamok lake have been transferred to a pop star famous on the city’s billboards. The lake’s privatization and sand filling, which has sparked concerns over evictions, flooding and corruption, has rapidly progressed since last year. Many of the plots have gone to connected individuals, including the Land Minister’s daughter, a senator’s wife, and a Brigade 70 commander’s wife. The latest batch of decrees disclosing state-land transfers shows two further plots on Boeng Tamok were handed to pop star Preap Sovath and another private individual, and two social land concessions carved off of protected areas in Ratanakiri and Banteay Meanchey. In a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on April 13 and publicly released this week, Sovath receives 3 hectares of Boeng Tamok in Prek Pnov district in three plots. One location is 2.7 hectares and the other two are 0.2 and 0.1 hectares. Sovath could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Ky Seng is named as the recipient of the second Boeng Tamok area in the latest batch, but the individual’s background was not immediately clear. read more https://vodenglish.news/pop-star-preap-sovath-gets-controversial-boeng-tamok-lake-land/

Measure is needed to prevent rising number of citizens being scammed with fake job offers, Jakarta says. Indonesia’s government said Thursday it would tighten supervision at exit points to prevent workers from going to Cambodia with fake job offers, as the number of citizens who have been scammed like this has nearly quadrupled over the last year. Last month, Cambodian police rescued dozens of Indonesians allegedly being held against their will, tortured, and forced to work long hours with little or no pay, after they were duped into working as cyber scammers in fraudulent investment companies. Meanwhile, reports have emerged from Cambodia in recent months about migrants from neighboring countries such as Thailand and Vietnam being held against their will by criminal gangs and being forced to work. These include dozens of Vietnamese who reportedly tried to escape from a casino complex in Kandal province in mid-August by jumping into a river. In the case of Indonesian citizens, many people were being lured to work in Cambodia with the promise of high salaries, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told parliament on Thursday. “There has been a sharp rise in the number of Indonesian victims from a total of 119 in 2021 to 446 from January to August 2022,” Retno said. She added that Indonesia had managed to repatriate all of the victims this year so far, and in July-August alone brought back 241 citizens who had been victims of fraud and held captive in the Cambodian seaside city of Sihanoukville. Retno said that her ministry immediately followed up on reports about fraud and human trafficking committed against many Indonesians in Cambodia by going to see the Cambodian foreign minister, the home affairs minister, and the police chief. “On Aug. 4, we held a meeting with the Cambodian home affairs minister, who also supervises the police and migration issues in Cambodia,” according to Retno. Meanwhile, Judha Nugraha, who directs the office for the protection of Indonesians overseas at the foreign ministry, said the ministry had planned several measures to tighten the supervision of migrant workers’ departures from the country. “To prevent more fraud, we have compiled several prevention steps, one of which is to tighten the supervision of migrant workers’ departures, particularly at the border and exit points of international ports and airports,” Judha told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news service. Another step planned by the ministry is the dissemination of public education about migration to prevent prospective workers from becoming victims of fraud, he said. The government, he said, must play an active role in helping safeguard workers from being lured into employment scams abroad. “The country must be present. From various interviews that we conducted on cases of migrant workers, we found that the majority of Indonesian migrant workers received information from brokers or sponsors, not from the government,” he said. Public education 'essential' Sukamta, a member of parliament who goes by one name, said public education was “indeed essential.” “If someone is offered a job abroad with a monthly salary of Rp. 5 million, they will immediately take it. They don’t care about who made the offer, what the risks and the procedures are,” Sukamta said in a meeting with Retno. Another expert on migrant issues said that human traffickers lure their targets with offers of high salaries, which the Indonesian people have not been well educated about. “The general pattern of migration is usually from less developed countries to the more developed country. Indonesia is economically better than Cambodia. From that fact alone, [such advertisements or offers] are already suspect,” said Yuherina Gusman, a lecturer on migrant issues and international relations at Al Azhar University in Indonesia. “The salary range for migrant workers in the ASEAN region is still below 5 million. They offer a salary of 9 million to work in Cambodia, which is above the ASEAN average,” said Yuherina, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional bloc. Another MP, Nihayatul Wafiroh, said the government needed to strengthen its inter-agency cooperation. “There must be strengthened coordination between labor stakeholders,” she told BenarNews. Judha, of the foreign affairs ministry, spoke of a recent cooperative success story in preventing more than 200 Indonesian migrant workers from traveling to Sihanoukville on Aug. 12. “They had chartered a flight to Sihanoukville,” Judha said, adding the Indonesian authorities managed to stop the flight from taking off. “Thanks to the cooperation of various parties, we succeeded in thwarting and arresting the traffickers.” BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/supervision-09012022154026.html Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

Paris, France — Longstanding Cambodian opposition figure Sam Rainsy will face a French court on Thursday in defamation cases brought against him by top officials in his home country. Rainsy, 73, was targeted with two separate complaints by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his son-in-law and deputy national police chief, Dy Vichea, over Facebook posts dating back to 2019. Hun Sen contests Rainsy's allegation that he was behind the 2008 death in a helicopter crash of national police chief Hok Lundy, who was Dy Vichea's father. "Hun Sun killed Hok Lundy using a bomb placed inside his helicopter," Rainsy claimed on Facebook. The leader of Cambodia's government "decided to murder Hok Lundy because he knew too much about Hun Sen's misdeeds", he added. Dy Vichea has brought a second case against Rainsy over a separate 2019 Facebook post, which will also be heard on Thursday. The judges could take several weeks to deliver a verdict. Luc Brussolet, a lawyer representing both Cambodian officials, said he expected the court to "find the remarks in question defamatory". But Rainsy's lawyer Jessica Finelle told AFP that judges ought to "recognise that it is in the public interest for Sam Rainsy to denounce crimes committed by Hun Sen within a dictatorship". 'Exonerate him' Her client "has been persecuted for 30 years by Hun Sen. The only weapon remaining to him is freedom of expression, to testify about what he has experienced and condemn what political opponents and human rights defenders are suffering in Cambodia", she said. Rainsy was one of the founders of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, the country's main opposition movement. He spent years fighting Hun Sen -- who has ruled for the past 37 years -- before seeking refuge in 2015 in France, where he is a dual national. Rainsy is the target of many court cases in Cambodia, where he says he is being persecuted for political reasons. The government there accused him of an attempted coup when he sought to return in 2019. "In his home country, Sam Rainsy is the victim of a slew of trials, the regime is trying to muzzle him," said another of his lawyers, Mathias Chichportich. The French tribunal should "enshrine Sam Rainsy's right to express his political struggle" and "exonerate him", he added. "His words are founded on a solid factual basis." Although Rainsy's party performed strongly in the 2013 elections, it was dissolved four years later. In 2018, Hun Sen's movement swept every seat in Cambodia's parliament, a result that was fiercely contested. Since then, increasing numbers of dissidents have been arrested and prosecuted. Dozens of opposition figures were sentenced in a mass trial in June, with Rainsy receiving an eight-year prison sentence in his absence. He has already been jailed in his absence for terms of 25 and 10 years for trying to topple Hun Sen, who is expected to run again in new elections next July. https://www.voacambodia.com/a/cambodian-opposition-figure-faces-french-defamation-trial/6725397.html

Four Chinese nationals and two Cambodians were sent by the Sihanoukville authorities to the provincial court for proceedings related to human trafficking yesterday General Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said on August 31, 2022 that the suspects were arrested on the afternoon of August 26, 2022 after a complaint to the hotline of the Krala Hom Sar Kheng team that there is a case of human trafficking. Following the orders of Samdech Krala Hom Sar Kheng, General of Sihanoukville Provincial Police led a specialized force to investigate the case. A search revealed that 35 Chinese nationals had illegally crossed the border by water from China to Sihanoukville and had been taken by brokers to hide in the Lixing Company building in Village 4, Sangkat 4, Province. Sihanoukville. In the operation, with the order of the Provincial Governor and the Chairman of the Sihanoukville Administrative Unity Command, and with the direct coordination of Mr. Long Cheab and Mr. Chandarith, Deputy Prosecutors of the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office. Sihanoukville, forces from the Sihanoukville Administrative Unity Command went to search the Lixing Company building to find Chinese illegal immigrants. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501143092/six-sent-to-court-for-sihanoukville-human-trafficking-after-raid-nets-35-illegal-immigrants/

Prime Minister Hun Sen claims that lawmaker Hun Many has no ambition to take over the post of Prime Minister from his brother Lieutenant General Hun Manet, and that they have no dispute over the future leadership of the ruling party. The claim comes after some political analysts said that the sons of Mr Hun Sen, Hun Many and Lt Gen Hun Manet, are feuding over who will succeed their father as prime minister. Exiled political analyst Kim Sok told The Cambodia Daily on Tuesday that the announcement of Lt Gen Hun Manet’s book could indicate that both Lt Gen Hun Manet and Hun Many are vying for the transfer of power from his father. Sok added: “Such an open confrontation may show that Hun Many has not dropped his rivalry with Hun Manet for the position of Prime Minister, and this is a big obstacle for Mr Hun Sen because if they both continue to compete for the position, it will lead to a serious internal crisis for the Hun family.” read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501142571/pm-quashes-rumours-over-sibling-rivalry-for-countrys-top-job/

Soldiers have blocked the road into politician Khem Veasna’s Siem Reap farmstead, where thousands of worshippers gathered to avoid an apocalyptic flood that Veasna claimed he had now prevented with his chakra. For a week, Veasna posted online that a black hole forming in his spine had warned him of a flood that would wipe out all of Earth except his farm. Followers flocked to his compound to listen to him preach every afternoon, camping on the land and surrounding areas. Authorities gave a midnight Tuesday deadline for the gathering to disperse, and say some people have begun to leave. But others remain, and the military has been deployed to prevent further arrivals and help take people home, a provincial official said. Siem Reap deputy governor Ly Samrith said on Wednesday that the road into Veasna’s farmstead was now blocked, and the province would provide rides home for people on military vehicles. “In case they don’t have any transportation to go back, we will help them,” Samrith said. But “there are still people who want to go inside. We have blocked them and continue to educate them to leave that place.” read more https://vodenglish.news/military-locks-down-politicians-doomsday-farmstead/

A Cambodian psychiatrist treating victims of the Khmer Rouge and a French environmentalist cleaning up Indonesian rivers were among the winners Wednesday of the 2022 Ramon Magsaysay Award -- considered Asia's Nobel Prize. The annual award, established in 1957 and named after a Philippines president who died in a plane crash, honours those who have performed "selfless service to the peoples of Asia". The foundation that runs the award announced four winners in an online announcement. Among them was Sotheara Chhim, 54, a psychiatrist and survivor of the murderous, ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge regime that killed nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population through starvation, overwork and mass executions in the 1970s. He was cited for devoting his life to helping people who suffered under the Khmer Rouge, with a focus on treating "baksbat" -- "broken courage" -- a syndrome seen in Cambodia that is similar to post-traumatic stress disorder. The Magsaysay Award organisers praised "his calm courage in surmounting deep trauma to become his people's healer". read more https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220831-cambodian-psychiatrist-helping-genocide-survivors-wins-asia-s-nobel-prize

A Thai drug suspect was shot dead and three others were arrested in a drug bust in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on Wednesday, according to Cambodian media. The Khmer Times reported that a shootout ensued as the Anti-Drug Department’s special force was conducting an anti-drugs operation and trying to stop a vehicle transporting drugs. “To stop the vehicle – a pickup truck – police fired at the vehicle, killing 1 person,” he said. It quoted police as identifying the suspect who was shot dead only as “James”, a Thai national who was around 28 years old. It said three other people in the truck were injured and detained by police. read more https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thai-killed-in-phnom-penh-drug-bust-shoot-out/

A self styled magician or wizard is today in police custody, accused of ‘improper acts’ on 3 young online salewomen. Khuon Sareth, male, 46 years old, ethnic Khmer, farmer, resides in Hop village, Kork Khchak commune, Kampong Trabek district, Prey Veng province and was arrested on the afternoon of August 30, 2022. According to police, on August 25, 2022, at 8:30 AM, the suspect, Khuon Sareth, went to the home of 3 18 year old women and claimed that he was a magician who could magically manifest money. The suspect then called one of the victims into a room, locked the door from the inside, and took off all of the victim’s clothes. He then pushed the victim on the bed, then then committed various improper acts whilst chanting and using incense. At 5:00 pm on the same day, the suspect called another victim into the room and committed the same improper acts and then onto the 3rd victim. On August 28, 2022, at 3:00 PM, the three victims reported the man to the police and filed a complaint at the Dangkor Administrative Police Station for the police to intervene and arrest the suspect for questioning. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501142339/sex-wizard-detained-for-improper-acts/

Police yesterday confiscated an arsenal of home-made weapons. The confiscation took place in Chamnar Village, Sala Visay Commune, Prasat Balang District, Kampong Thom Province on August 29, 2022. The police force of Sala Visay commune administrative post confiscated 8 illegally processed firearms and gas cannons from villagers. Colonel Hang Lem, Chief of Sala Visay Commune Administrative Police Station, said that in the past, the police station had confiscated more than 250 illegally processed firearms, including cabin rifles and air rifles. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501141481/extraordinary-home-made-guns-confiscated/

The Preah Vihear section of Stung Sen River has reached more than one metre above the alert levels and has affected close to 500 families in the province. By the evening of 29 August, the level of Stung Sen River in Preah Vihear city was recorded at 12.54 metres, which is more one metre above the alert levels. Keo Vy, Advisor to the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), told local news that the Stung Sen floods in Preah Vihear province affected four districts: Preah Vihear, Choam Ksan, Chey Sen and Tbeng Meanchey. So far, the flood has affected 487 families, equivalent to 1,948 people. The flood also forced 74 families to evacuate their homes and search for safe ground. The NCDM Advisor said that the flood has continued to damage 3,262 hectares of rice fields and some rural roads. read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501141468/one-metre-and-growing-stung-sen-one-metre-above-alert-levels-in-preah-vihear/

Chen Baorong, a Chinese man arrested while trying to rescue detained workers from Cambodian scam compounds, was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday morning, according to his wife who attended the verdict announcement. The decision was made at the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Court, but a court spokesperson has yet to confirm the sentence against Chen and others in the case. Chinese-language media have also reported the two-year sentence. This article will be updated once official information is provided. Four people were initially arrested in the case: Li Ya Yuan Lun, 31; Chen Xiaohua, 41; Tan Xiaomei, 41; and Chen. Li had claimed in February that after refusing scam work in Sihanoukville, the syndicate detaining him harvested his blood. The story quickly attracted attention overseas — especially in Chinese-language media — but Cambodian authorities deemed the tale fabricated and arrested Li, Chen, Chen’s assistant and a doctor. Chen was arrested and charged by the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Court in March with incitement to discriminate, false declaration, unlawful interference in the discharge of public functions and unlawful use of certificate of profession. read more https://vodenglish.news/wife-says-trafficking-rescuer-sentenced-to-two-years-in-prison/

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Forests currently covered approximately 8.5 million hectares, or 46.86 percent of Cambodia's land area, Ministry of Environment's secretary of state and spokesman Neth Pheaktra said on Tuesday. "Of the total forest cover, some 7.3 million hectares, equivalent to 41 percent of Cambodia's land area, are protected areas and biodiversity corridors," he said during a press conference. The Southeast Asian nation has 76 protected areas and biodiversity corridors, in which about 100 locations are ecotourism destinations, Pheaktra said. The spokesman stressed that the government is committed to protecting and managing natural resources, replanting trees, and cracking down on forest crimes. Cambodia's forest cover stood at 73 percent in the 1970s, but was gradually decreased due to over-logging since then. https://english.news.cn/20220830/412e300a19a3479aa687b14a3f12b630/c.html