Locked Up In Cambodia....

[kat]

... It is the considered opinion of many (note I say many, not all) in the expatriate community that some (again, not all) of these organizations do have some kind of agenda, which is not necessarily related to the best interests of the people they are supposed to protect. Anecdotal 'evidence' to be sure, but fairly persuasive, unless of course you are of the opinion that every expat in the place is a latent pedophile.

The doctor I mentioned above is homosexual and made little attempt to hide the fact that he paid for sexual services from young Khmer men (all of whom he said were over 18 - mostly in their early twenties). One of these Christian fundamentalist NGOs took serious exception to his lifestyle and determined to make an example of him, mainly because of his sexual orientation. His case was not helped by the fact that despite being one of the best physicians in the country, he is known to be rude and abraisive with people he dislikes. The Cambodian legal sytem was in even more of a parlous state a few years ago than it is now, and this organization was obviously banking on there being no proper police or judicial investigation of their accusations. Fortunately, the man was well-liked and respected by many high-ranking Cambodians and was eventually sentenced to time-served.

ok, well semantically you say "so many", being the academic that you are. And no, I don't think there is anything wrong with corroborating fact with anecdotal evidence. Of course, you can obviously read what I wrote in my prior posts, so obviously I am not of the opinion "that every expat in the place is a latent pedophile"; I guess you just added that for the sake of argument.

But, you did mention that "so many" are feminazis -- what exactly is a feminazi in your opinion?

And also, you say that the "opinion of many (note I say many, not all -- duly noted) in the expatriate community that some (again, not all) of these organizations do have some kind of agenda"

So, the obvious question would be, who are these many if not all, members of the expat community?

Not really looking for an answer, and not really interested.

[Rumpole]

So, the obvious question would be, who are these many if not all, members of the expat community?

I'll give you an answer anyway.

People who have lived in the country for many years and have businesses and families there. Western and Asian lawyers, including a long-standing Khmer friend . Academics and even NGO staff. I like Cambodia in spite of all its shortcomings, and like to keep abreast of some of the things which are happening there, between visits.

Edited March 5, 2006 by Rumpole

[udon]

Hi Kat,

try as I might I cannot find the ref you mentioned.

However, it is obvious that Inquisition 21 also serves as an apologist and advocacy vehicle for pedophiles

Perhaps you can provide a link.

Did anyone else get the same impression as Kat about inquisition21.com ?

[kat]

Udon,

There is no link to provide, except the one that everyone else has on this thread. I simply sat down and read through the bulk of their articles. I have given you quotes, and a synopsis of things I read, with both thier blatant and subtle messages. As I said, I saw a recurrent pattern, especially in the comments that were not directly stated, but demonstrated by their editorials and presentation of concerned characters. You always have to read between the lines on journals such as this one, or any one for that matter.

Do I expect you to find a collection of people on TV that agree with me? Does the fox ever turn down a chance to guard the chicken coop?

[chuchok]

Udon,

There is no link to provide, except the one that everyone else has on this thread. I simply sat down and read through the bulk of their articles. I have given you quotes, and a synopsis of things I read, with both thier blatant and subtle messages. As I said, I saw a recurrent pattern, especially in the comments that were not directly stated, but demonstrated by their editorials and presentation of concerned characters. You always have to read between the lines on journals such as this one, or any one for that matter.

Do I expect you to find a collection of people on TV that agree with me? Does the fox ever turn down a chance to guard the chicken coop?

I can see where you are comming from, but I would like more 'evidence' before making a decent observation.

Still, I wouldn't put it past some NGO's to be very much like what is decribed in the articles.

IMO, there is only one thing worse than pedophilia, and that's being accused of it on trumped up charges. If true, I hope the accuses are delt 20 years in a Cambodian jail.

You comment about the fox and the hen house was about as funny as polio though.

[kat]

Udon,

There is no link to provide, except the one that everyone else has on this thread. I simply sat down and read through the bulk of their articles. I have given you quotes, and a synopsis of things I read, with both thier blatant and subtle messages. As I said, I saw a recurrent pattern, especially in the comments that were not directly stated, but demonstrated by their editorials and presentation of concerned characters. You always have to read between the lines on journals such as this one, or any one for that matter.

Do I expect you to find a collection of people on TV that agree with me? Does the fox ever turn down a chance to guard the chicken coop?

1. I can see where you are comming from, but I would like more 'evidence' before making a 1. decent observation.

2. Still, I wouldn't put it past some NGO's to be very much like what is decribed in the articles.

2. IMO, there is only one thing worse than pedophilia, and that's being accused of it on trumped up charges. If true, I hope the accuses are delt 20 years in a Cambodian jail.

3. You comment about the fox and the hen house was about as funny as polio though.

1. Let's see, you're looking for 'evidence' in sussing out a political or moral stance in a journal? Do you expect find this evidence laid out for you, and labeled, as in a courtroom? I don't think so, which is why I called it their perspective, and how in certain respects it is obvious and inevitable. And by the way, I read more than just the cases discussed on this thread about the Aussies and Kiwi.

2. Not much different from what I've already stated in my first, second, and third posts, and just about every other post I have ever made on this forum regarding this topic *(of foreign pedophiles). But you know, two wrongs don't make a right. *(i.e. Just because Thaksin is on the line, doesn't mean his list of detractors are far from clean).

3. Sometimes, deadly is even better than funny.

Edited March 6, 2006 by kat

[david96]

Aust signs police pacts with Vietnam, Cambodia

10:14 PM March 7

Australia has signed police agreements with Vietnam and Cambodia to jointly fight terrorism, the illegal drugs trade, child sex abuse and other crimes, officials and diplomats said on Tuesday.

"We warmly welcome the agreement between the police forces to cooperate in future," an Australian embassy spokesperson said in Hanoi.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Mick Keelty at the weekend in Hanoi signed the first memorandum of understanding between a Western law enforcement agency and the Vietnamese National Police Force, the AFP said.

"Crime these days has no borders and unless we can work together and share information between countries, we will not win the fight against transnational crime," Commissioner Keelty said in a statement.

In Phnom Penh, Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak on Tuesday also confirmed that an agreement had been signed last week.

"It's important that we continue to fight against transnational crimes," he said. "And so far we have excellent cooperation with the Australian Federal Police in arresting offenders and information exchange."

The AFP says it now has officers posted in 26 countries.

Australia has been fighting the illegal trafficking of drugs as well as of women and children and money laundering disguised as remittance payments.

- AFP

Source: AFP

[Patex]

...Don't know...

I liked this part most, I can fully agree!

Patex

[chuchok]

Udon,

There is no link to provide, except the one that everyone else has on this thread. I simply sat down and read through the bulk of their articles. I have given you quotes, and a synopsis of things I read, with both thier blatant and subtle messages. As I said, I saw a recurrent pattern, especially in the comments that were not directly stated, but demonstrated by their editorials and presentation of concerned characters. You always have to read between the lines on journals such as this one, or any one for that matter.

Do I expect you to find a collection of people on TV that agree with me? Does the fox ever turn down a chance to guard the chicken coop?

1. I can see where you are comming from, but I would like more 'evidence' before making a 1. decent observation.

2. Still, I wouldn't put it past some NGO's to be very much like what is decribed in the articles.

2. IMO, there is only one thing worse than pedophilia, and that's being accused of it on trumped up charges. If true, I hope the accuses are delt 20 years in a Cambodian jail.

3. You comment about the fox and the hen house was about as funny as polio though.

1. Let's see, you're looking for 'evidence' in sussing out a political or moral stance in a journal? Do you expect find this evidence laid out for you, and labeled, as in a courtroom? I don't think so, which is why I called it their perspective, and how in certain respects it is obvious and inevitable. And by the way, I read more than just the cases discussed on this thread about the Aussies and Kiwi.

2. Not much different from what I've already stated in my first, second, and third posts, and just about every other post I have ever made on this forum regarding this topic *(of foreign pedophiles). But you know, two wrongs don't make a right. *(i.e. Just because Thaksin is on the line, doesn't mean his list of detractors are far from clean).

3. Sometimes, deadly is even better than funny.

1)you must have missed the one about Peter Ellis, who is a NZ gay bloke that was jailed for ten years for abusing children.The evidence and sentence were so bad, that there is going to be a government enquiry about it.BTW, Ellis was released in 2000.

3)You've really lost me here.

[kat]

I never claimed that all of their cases were suspect, just mostly their perspective. Afterall, I started my comments here expressing doubts in the cases about the subject of this thread.

[chuchok]

NZer's Cambodia sex case appeal to be reheard

09.03.06 8.00am

A New Zealander jailed for the rape of five girls in Cambodia is to have his appeal against conviction reheard.

Cambodian Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana said he was ready to accept a request by Graham Cleghorn, 59, because the original appeal was held without Mr Cleghorn's presence, knowledge or his embassy being informed.

NZ Herald

[udon]

A bit of good news at last for this guy.

If he is released, the other guys should have a chance as CWCC's M.O was the same.

[kat]

There is an update to this story. In today's Bangkok Post, there was a small article that said the girls and their parents DID NOT recant their stories. It's going to be an interesting appeal.

[udon]

Cambodian girls accuse women's group of coercing rape testimony against Australian

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Nine Cambodian girls on Thursday recanted their accusations against a convicted Australian rapist, saying that a nonprofit women's group abused and coerced them into giving testimony that led to his conviction three years ago.

The girls told Cambodia's Appeals Court that 39-year-old Bart Lauwaert was innocent.

Lauwaert is appealing his 2003 rape conviction and a 20-year prison sentence. The girls were between 14 and 18 years old when he allegedly abused them, and two of them worked as maids at his house in Siem Reap until his arrest in 2002.

But in an unusual twist Thursday, the girls said they were coerced by the nonprofit Cambodian Women's Crisis Center (CWCC), which had provided them with shelter, into accusing Lauwaert of raping them.

"Bart is innocent. He is like a Buddhist monk," Khoeun Savy, now 18.

"I am dropping the charge against him because he never raped me. At the provincial court, the organization (CWCC) made me say he had raped me," she added.

Hoeung Kieng, also believed to be in her late teens, said the CWCC "detained me at their center for six months and mentally tortured me by not letting us out of the compound."

Oung Chanthol, the CWCC director, said the girls were originally brought to her center in Siem Reap by provincial police, who had received complaints about sexual abuse inside Lauwaert's residence. The nonprofit CWCC was established in 1997 to combat violence against women and children.

She said the girls had remained consistent in their original allegations against Lauwaert up through the trial in early 2003.

"For me, it is regretful that the children have been manipulated," Oung Chanthol said. "This is not a usual case. Money must have been involved. They have been instigated into changing their stories."

The nine alleged victims attended Thursday's hearing without any legal representation. They were accompanied by their parents and denied they had been bribed by the defense to drop their complaints against Lauwaert.

Saly Theara, who led the three-judge Appeals Court panel, adjourned the hearing until June 9 to announce the verdict.

After the hearing, Lauwaert, who was born in Belgium, said he was "totally innocent."

"I never abused or raped anyone," he said. "No one ever complained against me until the CWCC kidnapped the girls (from) my house, and they offered them money to complain against foreigners."

Oung Chanthol flatly denied the allegation. (AP)

June 1, 2006

Source: http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/internationa...0in040000c.html

More: ABC (Aus)

Assoc Press

[oopapasan]

You think he will really be able to help? Seems to me the minute a western country tells, suggests, even hints at something the Asia country should, they don't do it.

Something to do with "face"...

See what you do? I try to do a little face saving, by not coming out and just saying it like a Baa Falang and you step in a blow it!

I expected better of you JaiDee.

Maybe he is guilty and had the wits paid off.

[Douggie Style]

Well it wouldn't be the first time!

Still....I have some serious doubts about this case, it may just be the exception that proves the rule.

Previously I had a look at some websites on the case and Googled it which brought up some more interesting reading, it just became more and more disturbing and plainly odd, issues such as.

the CWCC allegedly making the complaint only after a refusal by the defendent to sell it his land

the CWCC allegedly, travelling to the village on numerous occasions offering money for witnesses, this didn't work, at first and repeatedly they stated nothing happended, apparently he was a good guy doing a lot of NGO work for the village

one witnesses mother was even on the press record recently as demanding her 'testimony' money from the CWCC

the CWCC directors brother being a judge, the same judge initially involved in the case, since in trouble for corruption involving similar scams working in concert with his sister to assume the assets of expats

the CWCC allegedly receiving a huge amount of foreign funds after it brought the first case to light (the alleged motive)

the CWCC using the same modus operandi on other expats

the failure to inform appellant of the appealit goes on in much more detail than this.

This is from memory. If he is innocent ( I am leaning towards innocent) he has had his whole life completley destroyed after giving so much to the Cambodian people.

The foreign organisations looking at these issues need to take this case on board and be more circumspect in dealing with third world countries. Simply offering vast sums of money in this environment will produce whatever outcomes desired. This may look good for a while but eventually will backfire and set back any legitimate work.

Although pedophilia is abhorred, in western societies natural justice is still applied, this protects against hysteria, such as led to the Inquisitions. Any foreign donor has a responsibility to insist on standards of natural justice and should be held accountable if found to have directly contributed to this situation.

If he is eventually found to be innocent (which will not remove the shadow of taint to follow him forever) I would then really like to get your opinion, Kat.

[Douggie Style]

Ok as I can't figure out how to edit (delete!) the above a couple of late corrections and a humble pie eating apology.

Since going back and reading all of the comments, instead of just the immediate posts above:>

1. The thread is dealing with a few different cases, my post refers to the Cleghorn case.

2. After reading all of Kat's previous comments, it seems you were actually strongly objecting to misadministation by the NGO's/CWCC (if proven) but weren't happy with the generalising and femonazi labelling. Unfortunately I tuned in when the discussion had gone off into the second part, my error.

Therefore my last comment

'If he is eventually found to be innocent (which will not remove the shadow of taint to follow him forever) I would then really like to get your opinion, Kat.'

is completely unfair to what you posted before and yourself and so my apologies.

By the way, does anyone have any more news on Cleghorn?

Edited June 4, 2006 by Douggie Style

[stumonster]

Child rapist's appeal fails

By Soeum Yin Phnom Penh

June 09, 2006

A CAMBODIAN appeals court today upheld a 20-year prison sentence against an Australian for child rape.

Bart Lauwaert, 39, a former English language teacher, was convicted in 2003 of raping nine house maids, aged between 12 and 14, at the tourist town of Siem Reap, not far from famous Angkor temples.

At an appeal hearing in Phnom Penh last week, Lauwaert denied they were ever assaulted.

His trial had been called into question over allegations that the victims had been coached by anti-child sex activists to testify against him.

Last week the girls dropped their original complaints.

Instead they told the appeals court that the Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre (CWCC), a non-governmental organisation, had urged them to testify against Lauwaert, claiming he would be forced to pay them money if he was found guilty.

The centre has denied the girls' latest claim and today the appeal court questioned why they had reversed their testimony.

Lauwaert did not appear at today's Phnom Penh hearing.

His lawyer said he would launch a further appeal with Cambodia's Supreme Court.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...44-1702,00.html

[leftcross]

how can the sentence be upheld if the only 'evidence' is withdrawn?

scary country.

[udon]

I notice that there was no mention that the Siem Reap judge wanted to buy the land near Angkor owned by one of the accused, and it was his sister (from the CWCC) who accused them of raping the girls.

IT STINKS!

Fact: Most of the judiciary in Cambodia left school at 14 & 15. No further education......

[oopapasan]

I notice that there was no mention that the Siem Reap judge wanted to buy the land near Angkor owned by one of the accused, and it was his sister (from the CWCC) who accused them of raping the girls.

IT STINKS!

Fact: Most of the judiciary in Cambodia left school at 14 & 15. No further education......

Guilty or not he should not have put himself in that position.

[udon]

I notice that there was no mention that the Siem Reap judge wanted to buy the land near Angkor owned by one of the accused, and it was his sister (from the CWCC) who accused them of raping the girls.

IT STINKS!

Fact: Most of the judiciary in Cambodia left school at 14 & 15. No further education......

Guilty or not he should not have put himself in that position.

You obviously haven't read the links.

[LaoPo]

I notice that there was no mention that the Siem Reap judge wanted to buy the land near Angkor owned by one of the accused, and it was his sister (from the CWCC) who accused them of raping the girls.

IT STINKS!

Fact: Most of the judiciary in Cambodia left school at 14 & 15. No further education......

Guilty or not he should not have put himself in that position.

You obviously haven't read the links.

Second that, Udon.

Oopapasan: I hope you will never ever be in serious trouble with any Police or Justice in ANY Far Eastern country.....guilty or NOT...

What a st_pid remark you made here! You should be ashamed of yourself.

LaoPo

[udon]

AT LAST!

"Pedophile" extradition halted

Michael McKenna

10jun06

AN Australian schoolteacher convicted of pedophilia in Cambodia walked free from a Queensland jail last night after the Howard Government decided he could be tortured and denied natural justice if sent back to Phnom Penh.

The Government cancelled the extradition of Clint Rex Betterridge, who fled Cambodia days before he was convicted of underage sex in 2003, after authorities there refused to give him a new trial following the recanting of his accusers' original testimony.

On the same day that a Cambodian court of appeal upheld the conviction, Justice Minister Chris Ellison ordered his immediate release amid fears he would be denied natural justice, and possibly tortured, if returned to serve his 10-year term.

In a move that threatens diplomatic relations with Cambodia, Senator Ellison told The Weekend Australian he had decided not to surrender Betterridge after reports his accusers had recanted their allegations.

Senator Ellison said the Cambodian Government had failed to respond to his request for a retrial. "This has been a long and complex matter," he said.

"It has involved a conviction of an Australian for serious offences. However, there have been circumstances particular to this case which have warranted my decision." Betterridge was convicted in absentia by a Cambodian court in January 2003 for the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl and alleged sexual offences involving three other teenage girls. But they have since recanted their allegations.

Three days before his trial, Betterridge -- who had been engaged to marry a local woman -- fled to Queensland after the Australian embassy in Phnom Penh issued him a passport.

Amid a public outcry over the incident, Betterridge was arrested in Australia and has spent the past three years in Brisbane's maximum security Wolston Correctional Centre, alongside some of Queensland's most notorious criminals, awaiting a decision on Betterridge's extradition to Cambodia.

At a hastily called appeal hearing in Phnom Penh last Friday, nine girls testified that the Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre had urged them to testify against Betterridge and his co-accused, fellow Australian Bart Lauwaert, claiming the teachers would be forced to pay them money if convicted.

But judge Saly Theara found their latest testimony, and the protests of the accused, groundless. The judge did, however, strike out orders that Lauwaert and Betterridge pay the girls and their families compensation.

Betterridge had claimed the allegations were part of an extortion attempt and feared he would be denied justice in Cambodia.

While on remand in Cambodia, he claimed he was tortured, with a medical report from Queensland's Department of Corrective Services finding evidence of scorpion bites to his genitals.

The Australian : http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...868-601,00.html

[LaoPo]

AT LAST!

While on remand in Cambodia, he claimed he was tortured, with a medical report from Queensland's Department of Corrective Services finding evidence of scorpion bites to his genitals.

The Australian : http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...868-601,00.html

Speechless...

LaoPo

[udon]

More good news

'Pedophile' case triggers high-level probe

By Michael McKenna

12-06-2006

From: The Australian

AN investigation has been launched into possible Federal Government links to a Cambodian group accused of paying girls to make allegations of sexual abuse, which were later withdrawn, against Australian teacher Clint Betterridge.

Justice Minister Chris Ellison ordered an inquiry after denying the Cambodian Government a three-year-old request to extradite Betterridge, who was convicted in absentia in 2003 and sentenced to 10 years' jail.

Betterridge, who has always protested his innocence and fled to Australia three days before his trial, was released from a Queensland jail on Friday night amid concerns he would be denied justice and tortured in Cambodia.

The Grafton-born teacher, 38, was released on the same day a Cambodian Court of Appeal upheld his conviction on charges of raping a 14-year-old girl and molesting three other teenagers, despite all of them retracting their original testimony at the appeal hearing earlier this month. Nine girls told the Phnom Penh appeal that the Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre had coerced them, with threats and money, to testify against Betterridge and his co-accused, fellow Australian Bart Lauwaert.

But none of the complainants received any payouts after the original trial.

Senator Ellison said one of the reasons behind his decision not to extradite Betterridge was the Cambodian Government's failure to respond to his request for a retrial. "The girls in this case have recanted their allegations ... and we could not secure assurances from the Cambodians that Betterridge be allowed a retrial and given an opportunity to offer a defence," he said.

Asked about allegations that the CWCC had received AusAID funding, Senator Ellison said he had yet to be given the "definitive word on that".

"But I have asked my department to make inquiries on that, and that is under way," he said.

Betterridge is understood to have been placed on suicide watch after learning on Friday that he had lost his appeal. He was freed hours later.

In a statement, his family said Betterridge was suffering from mental exhaustion and wanted to fight the allegations, although he believed he had no legal avenue to do so.

"He is pleased to have some justice, but disappointed that he will probably never get a legal mechanism to clear his name," the statement said. "He had no faith in the Cambodian legal system, and that he would be able to defend himself, which is why he came back to Australia expecting to be tried here under the sex tourism laws."

The Cambodian Government and prosecutors refused to comment on the decision of Senator Ellison, taken despite the Howard Government passing legislation in 2003 to allow the extradition of Betterridge.

From his prison cell in Phnom Penh, Lauwaert reportedly said he hoped Betterridge's release would help his appeal to the Supreme Court. "There is no evidence against me," he said.

"The girls have all admitted they were tricked into lying for money. I am very happy for Clint and all I can do is wonder why I am still here."

UN High Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour said judicial reform was the "single most important area in which Cambodia needed to make progress".

Cambodia's judges lacked training, integrity and independence, she said last month.

*********

Ausaid & it's counterparts in the UK USA etc., funding the CWCC?

[udon]

Asia-Pacific News

Cambodians tight-lipped on Australian government rebuff

By DPA

Jun 10, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Phnom Penh - Senior Cambodian justice officials were tight-lipped Saturday over the decision by the Australian government not to extradite an accused sex offender due to concerns over Cambodia\'s ability to provide a fair trial.

Australian English teacher Clinton Rex Betterridge, 39, who was convicted of paedophilia in Cambodia in absentia in January 2003, walked free from a Queensland jail last night after the Australian government announced its decision he could be tortured and denied natural justice if extradited to Cambodia to serve a 10 year jail term.

Ang Vong Vathana, a secretary for the Cambodian justice minister, said Saturday that the minister was in France and could not comment until next week. The chief of the Cambodian Prosecutors Department, Pinn Panyavuth, also declined comment.

The Australian government\'s decision to release Betterridge came the same day as the Phnom Penh Appeals Court upheld his sentence despite all the females recanting their testimonies against Betterridge and a second Australian national, his former flatmate Bart Lauwaert, 38, who is currently serving 20 years.

Betterridge fled Cambodia to Australia just days before he was sentenced in 2003 but was rearrested and has spent nearly four years fighting his extradition from a Brisbane jail.

In a brief email, Betterridge\'s mother Lola Betterridge said she was ecstatic about her son\'s release but that the battle was not over yet while Lauwaert remained in prison in Cambodia.

\'My heart goes out to Laura (Lauwaert\'s mother) and Bart; we can\'t stop fighting for them,\' she wrote.

The people of Touk Veal commune, where all the girls and women who accused the pair live, welcomed the news of Betterridge\'s release.

\'When we first brought the charges, I was angry and I wanted money. Now I am just happy for Clinton and I wish Bart to be free and with his family too,\' Nuon Sokhom, 22, a housemaid who originally accused Betterridge of forcing her to have oral sex but has since withdrawn her claims, said by telephone.

Nine young women and eight family members responded to warrants from the court to appear at the Appeals Court last week.

All retracted earlier accusations of sexual abuse, claiming the controversial Cambodian Women\'s Crisis Center (CWCC) had coerced their original testimonies from them with a mixture of threats and offers of financial compensation and they had lied at the initial hearing in Siem Reap Provincial Court.

However in handing down his verdict Friday, judge Saly Theary said he found the change of heart of the witnesses implausible and did not find their retractions adequate reason to change the original 10- and 20- year sentences handed down for the Australians in the initial testimony-based trial in Siem Reap.

CWCC chief Oung Chanthol has strenuously denied accusations of flawed methods by her organization to gain high-profile convictions since it first came under fire in a March 2004 article in the Far Eastern Economic Review.

In that article, senior CWCC officials admitted they 'educated' witnesses on testimony while holding them in detention, sometimes without their parents\' consent, and gave gifts to investigating police. Chanthol was not available for comment Saturday.

From his prison cell in Phnom Penh, Lauwaert welcomed the news of Betterridge\'s release and said he hoped it would go some way to helping him beat the charges when he appeals to the Supreme Court.

There is no evidence against me. The girls have all admitted they were tricked into lying for money. I am very, very happy for Clint and all I can do is wonder why I am still here,\' Lauwaert said.

[udon]

(FEER) Cambodia pedo hunt gone mad March 25, 2004

Groups: soc.culture.thai, soc.culture.cambodia

Madness in Their Method

The government is cracking down on foreign paedophiles. It's being

helped by local aid groups, but their methods are causing concern

By Bronwyn Sloan/SIEM REAP and PHNOM PENH

FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW

Issue cover-dated March 25, 2004

CAMBODIA, WITH ITS lax law enforcement, corrupt officials and largely

young and poor population, has long been a favourite destination for

foreign paedophiles. Scores have been arrested since the country opened

its doors to the outside world in 1991 after two decades of strife and

turmoil, but most have been released without trial or escaped with

light fines or short jail terms.

Top Cambodian politicians now put a priority on eradicating the scourge

and police have arrested about a dozen suspected foreign paedophiles in

the past four months. Local non-governmental organizations are helping

the authorities tackle the problem, but REVIEW investigations indicate

some of these groups may be operating outside legal and ethical

boundaries in a bid to get results and obtain essential foreign funding.

One such group, the Phnom Penh-based Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre

(CWCC) has received publicity at home and abroad over the past four

years for its key role in gathering evidence and witnesses in the

prosecutions of several foreign residents in Siem Reap, the tourist

gateway to the ancient Angkor temples in northwest Cambodia.

In January 2003, Australian teachers Bart Lauwaert and Clinton

Betterridge were convicted of debauchery (the Cambodian charge for

paedophilia) and sentenced respectively to 20 years and 10 years in

jail--the latter in absentia. Last month, New Zealand tour guide Graham

Cleghorn was convicted of raping five girls aged 15-17 and jailed for

20 years (the age of consent in Cambodia is 15). Swiss hotelier Rudolph

Knuchel was last year acquitted of debauchery for lack of evidence.

"If they did not do anything wrong, we could not arrest them," insists

Ket Nuon, director of the Siem Reap branch of the CWCC, which like most

other Cambodian NGOs depends on foreign funding to keep going. In

2002-03, it received about $520,000 in funds from a range of foreign

donors, including governments, according to documents at the

Cooperation Committee for Cambodia, which facilitates information

exchange between NGOs.

But critics have serious misgivings about some of the CWCC's methods,

including the way it gathers evidence from potential witnesses, holds

out the promise of financial compensation to victims and pays for help.

The agency denies that its methods are illegal or unethical.

Take the case of Thouk Sam Ang. The 11-year-old claims that she was held

prisoner for nearly two weeks by the CWCC and put under great pressure

to testify that 57-year-old Cleghorn, a family friend, had sexually

abused her. "They asked me to say that Graham had touched me. They

asked again and again," Thouk claims in an interview with the REVIEW.

She denies that she was touched or sexually abused, and this was borne

out by medical testing. "They said that Graham and [his Cambodian wife]

Toeur had already confessed . . . They said I should sue him and take

all his money," adds Thouk.

The girl, who says she tried unsuccessfully to escape, also says she was

told she would not see her mother again unless she agreed to give

evidence. "I was very scared. I have nightmares," she says. She was

only released when her mother came looking for her, and never appeared

in court.

The REVIEW heard similar allegations from 15-year-old Pol Mela. "They

asked, 'Did Graham rape you?' I said Graham did not do anything . . .

They thought we were lying," she says, adding that she was also held

against her will for about two weeks. She did not testify in court.

Hean Ton, the mother of a 13-year-old who refused to testify against

Cleghorn, alleges the NGO promised she would be awarded money if she

could persuade her daughter to give evidence that she had been sexually

abused.

Girls cited as witnesses in the case against Lauwaert and Betterridge

also say the promise of money was a factor in persuading them to take

the stand, and now complain that they never received any.

Ket, director of the CWCC's Siem Reap branch, does not dispute that

Thouk Sam Ang was held against her will and without notifying her

parents for the full period. But she claims the young girl, and the

others that Cleghorn was suspected of molesting, were brought to the

CWCC by the police as part of the investigation process.

(she paid the police to arrest him)

COMMON PRACTICE

The aid worker also says her organization did indeed question the girls

repeatedly and also challenged their statements if they denied being

abused. But this was to ensure they were not lying or trying to protect

anyone, she adds. The practice, moreover, appears to be common. "The

keeping of children like this--many NGOs do it, but I don't know

whether they do it in a lawful way or not," says lawyer Huon Chundy of

the independent Juvenile Litigation Project.

Some of these underage girls who would not give evidence against

Cleghorn say they wanted to testify on his behalf, but the trial judge

ruled that their evidence was inadmissible. George Cooper of Legal Aid

of Cambodia says that on purely legal grounds, in a trial based almost

entirely on the testimonial evidence of children, the testimony of

girls complaining that they were coached to say one thing could "cast a

negative light on all testimony" and lead to acquittal on

appeal--provided their evidence was ruled admissible.

The CWCC's Ket also says the CWCC advises victims to seek

compensation--Cleghorn was ordered to pay $2,000 to each of the five

girls he was found guilty of raping--but says it does not tell them how

much to ask for. "You can't blame the girls," says Cleghorn, who plans

to appeal. "That is 40 years' wages. They are all from very poor

families," he adds during a prison interview.

The CWCC official also says that the organization helps police during

their investigations by paying for small expenses. She denies any

impropriety and says this association has no bearing on the

prosecutions pushed by the CWCC. "If police go to arrest the suspect,

they ask for the petrol or lunch [because] they do not have much money.

This is the way we work with them," she says, adding: "There is no need

to call it bribery; it is just a matter of helping facilitate the work."

Pierre Legros, director of the anti-human-trafficking organization

Afesip, takes issue with organizations that pay for police services. He

says NGOs should not pay police anything at all as it breeds corruption

and a priority system for handling cases. Kim Morokath, a programme

officer with Denmark's DanChurchAid, has no problem with small amounts

being paid but suggests that at least one organization in northwest

Cambodia involved in the same kind of work as CWCC was going too far to

get results. The aid worker says a police officer in Banteay Meanchey

province told her that an organization, which she would not identify,

offered them $200 for helping to investigate a human-trafficking case.

"So when he gets a case, he gives that case to that organization," she

says.

There is also criticism about the detention of potential witnesses in

sex cases involving minors. Psychologist Don Thomson, a professor at

Australia's Charles Sturt University, is concerned about the detention

and questioning of potential child witnesses. He says this sort of

treatment can contaminate the witnesses, making a fair trial

impossible. It also has the potential to irreparably damage the

children and young adults involved.

Afesip's Legros also worries that growing donor interest in the kind of

work that NGOs like CWCC are involved in--combating human trafficking

and sexual exploitation of children--has the potential to put pressure

on NGOs to skirt ethical and legal boundaries in a bid to produce

results.

No arrests of Westerners, no funding from the West.

These concerns are echoed by Naly Pilorge, director of the Licadho

human-rights organization: "I would like to see a change in general NGO

attitude so they are not just focused on conviction, but also on

victims." But the CWCC firmly denies suggestions that it might put

results before justice in a bid to impress donors. "Funding is a

by-product," says Ket. "We just want to help people." [and pocket the US$600,000]

---

Source: http://www.feer.com

[Old Croc]

Many plaudence to Chukock and Udon who are continuing to point out the injustice in these cases. There is certainly enough evidence and testimony to throw serious doubt on the convictions.

It could happen to anyone.

[udon]

Thanks OC.

I suspect the opposite -

In a statement published on the Internet soon after his conviction, Cleghorn said he was framed by corrupt officials, including Siam Reap District Court judge Ten Senarong who wanted land he owned near the ancient temple Angkor Wat.

When he refused, Judge Senarong's sister Tan Senara, who ran the local office of the crisis centre, began approaching girls in his village offering them US$10,000 each to testify that he had molested them.

Graham Cleghorn

A reminder ........