Cambodia considers pardoning or cutting jail terms for 560 prisoners on Water Festival

Cambodia is considering pardoning or reducing prison terms for 560 prisoners on the occasion of Water Festival, which begins mid-next month, a Justice Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.

Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana reviewed the list of the prisoners requested by prisons across the country on Wednesday and would make a final decision on Thursday afternoon, Justice Ministry spokesman Kim Santhepheap told reporters.

Then, the ministry will request King Norodom Sihamoni to grant royal pardons or reduce jail terms for those prisoners.

"Among the 560 prisoners, 43 are women," he told reporters.

He said that under the Cambodian law, a prisoner is qualified for a royal amnesty provided he or she has served at least two-thirds of the jail term and behaved well while serving time in prison.

For a jail-term reduction, a prisoner must have served one-thirds of the prison term, he said.

Water Festival will be celebrated on Nov. 13, 14 and 15. It is the largest annual festival in the Southeast Asian nation. Over a million Cambodians, especially those from rural areas, will flock to Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, to enjoy the regatta.

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