No more pardons for big offenders, officials pledge

Just three weeks after being ordered by Prime Minister Hun Sen to examine its pardon application procedures amid a rash of violent crime nationwide, the Ministry of Justice announced today the end of pardons and early release altogether for prisoners who have committed serious offences.

“From now on, pardons for prisoners who have just a few months remaining to serve, will no longer be granted,” Justice Ministry spokesman Chin Malin said yesterday, after a four-hour meeting of officials. “And we will also not consider pardoning big crimes . . . such as major robberies and drug [offences].”

Previously, authorities had not considered the nature of a crime when deciding whether to reduce a sentence or grant a pardon, but only looked at how much of the term had been served and how the attitude of the prisoner had changed, Malin added.

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