Slightly Interesting Cambodian Facts (21) Chinese Extortionists Arrested in Cambodia

Since the beginning of 2010 more than 500 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals have been arrested in Cambodia for extortion and attempted extortion of their countrymen.

Using the internet to make cheap calls they threaten and cajole folk back home into parting with their money, usually from Phnom PenhVillas.

500 is surely the tip of the iceberg...

And Then There Were 5: Socheata gets Back on the Bike

Thankfully, Socheata has decided to get back on her bike.

She's not altogether happy about it and is going to take an alternative route home. But she is made of stern stuff and she knows that developing her English skills is one way of making progress in her life.

I know she will be looking over her shoulder all the way tonight,
and no one should have to do that. The sooner she can do away with night time study the better.

And Then There Were 5: Socheata Shaken while Cycling

Biking home from her studies last night Socheata was accosted by a man on a motorcycle.

While some of her story is lost in translated it appears the man spat at her, hit her on the back and rammed her bike with his motorcycle. She was on a busy road.

What Cambodian Kids Fear Most

Insects and scary animals.

That's what most of the world's kids are scared of.

But that's not the overwhelming fear for many Cambodian youngsters. Almost one-third of Khmer kids name violence and crime as their top fear according to a survey of more than 6,000 kids from 47 countries.

"I am afraid of thieves, child rape and drug users," 12 year-old Cambodian girl, Panchma, said.

This trepidation, shared by so many young Cambodians, is staggeringly high compared to the study's average; overall just 10% of the children surveyed responded that violence and crime most worried them.

 Only children from Liberia and Afghanistan shared such high levels of dread for violence.

Cambodian Rape: Blame the Victim

A young Cambodian girl, a rape victim, was terrified of telling her father. Eventually she did: her father slapped her in the face and laid the blame upon his daughter for straying too far from the family home.

An 11-year-old victim of gang-rape was severely traumatized in court by defense counsel who continually demanded to know why she hadn't called out for help during and after the attack. Eventually the pre-teen managed to sob that she hadn't wanted anyone to find her naked.

A Cambodian judged stated that he believed 85% of rape complaints were false. (Research in the U.S. shows that the number of false complaints is approximately 2%)

A disabled Cambodian girl was brutally beaten and then gang-raped in Kandal province recently. Local police chief Pam Sam Eth whilst claiming that he is "working hard on this case," also laid some of the blame upon the victim: “It was already 9 p.m. when she was raped. She shouldn't have been out so late."

Is it any wonder, then, that the crime of rape is grossly under-reported in Cambodia?

Is it any wonder that rape in on the increase in Cambodia?

And is it any wonder that most Cambodian people have little or no faith in the Cambodian justice system?

See also: Veata: A Cambodian Child

Hun Sen Quotes (5)

"I don't care whatever you are...political party, NGO, military, police, or military police general, when you are wrong, you receive the same punishment."

The Hangman's Noose

Cambodia and the Philippines are the only two of the ten ASEAN states to have abolished capital punishment. Cambodia wrote this abolition into the constitution back in 1989 and it was in the same year that the last Cambodian state-execution was carried out. The Philippines initially abolished capital punishment in 1987, re-introduced it in 1993, and re-abolished it in 2006.

Phnom Penh Street Brawl Kills One: Police Rule Out Prosecution

'A 20 year-old student died in hospital after a fight between two gangs in the streets of Phnom Penh's Toul Kork district,' reported today's The Phnom Penh Post.

He died from head wounds probably suffered as a result of being pelted with rocks. The victim's mother asked that police prosecute the case.

They have refused because they say, like his assailants, the dead man himself was a 'gangster.' So instead of a court appointment and a lengthy spell in prison, the offenders- once found- will be given "an education."

"Rival gangs do battle with rocks and swords"

"Rival gangs do battle with rocks and swords" reported the Phnom Penh Post.

After a drunken brawl with swords and rocks, six hoodlums were taken away by the local police. Instead of a court date and perhap a few months in the slammer the young gentleman had their heads shaved and were released. Apparently the police were convinced by the brawlers promise 'to stop doing that.'

Cambodian Crime? What Crime?

Three thousand, four hundred and sixty. That's the number that Cambodian police bosses put on crimes committed for 2009.

Three thousand, four hundred and sixty crimes, for a country of 14 million people steeped in poverty? That's ridiculous; if such a figure was correct it would mean that there were days when some provinces experienced no crime at all.

The three thousand, four hundred and sixty is of course the number of crimes reported to the police. And the vast majority of crime victims, serious or otherwise, simply do not bother to involve the police.

Can't say I blame them. Why call the police when they won't help unless there is something in it for them? Why call the police when the criminal can buy himself out of jail time. And why have the police snooping around your home when they are often a source of great fear for many Cambodians?

Nope, for most Cambodians it becomes a case of grinning and bearing it as best as one can. But three thousand, four hundred and sixty crimes in 2009? Don't believe it for one second!

Cambodian Criminals and Cops

Back online, finally!

Waking to someone in your house in the early morning is far from pleasant. Our burglar was trying to make off with the TV. Ear-piercing yells made him scarper but this was his second trip into the house- he had already flogged our laptops and a mobile phone and stashed them somewhere.

We did a bit of sleuthing and are 90% certain that the thief was the night watchman from the building site next door. And any good policeman prepared to put in some toil would have been able to track the man down and see if we were right. Trouble is good policemen in Cambodia are rare. So rare in fact our neighbours saw little point in immediately calling one.

Later we learnt Cambodian coppers will help you get your property back- so long as not much work is involved and you are prepared to 'tip' them for their services. How much? We are not sure; the Cambodians we asked guessed that the return of a couple of laptops would cost between US$ 20 to US$ 100. So you get robbed twice!

I was curious as to what would likely happen to the thief if he had been caught so I asked some of my students. One said, "Teacher, if he has money to pay the police they will let him go." Other students felt that this was a definite possibility.

Blog taking a week off due to Burglary!

It is Khmer New Year here and many people head to the provinces for family celebrations.

It is also a time for burglaries as houses are left unattended as Phnom Penh empties out.

Unfortunately for us, we were one of those burgled. While asleep we didn't hear our thief enter and carefully steal both our laptops and my mobile.

Due to this frustrating incident we are unable to blog for a week while we get sorted.

Please stay tuned as hopefully it won't be too long before we are up and running again!

Acid Attacks Rise Again

Youen Souen a 25 year-old Cambodian man wanted his wife to give him $25 to attend the local theatre. She refused, they argued, he slapped her, and later when he was asleep she retaliated by pouring acid over his face. He’s now scarred for life.

Sem Chanthy, a 27 year-old woman used to work in a Karaoke bar. On Wednesday two men entered her house and poured a litre of acid over her face and chest. She, too, is scarred for life.

Youen Souen and Sem Chanthy were just two of six victims of acid attacks in Cambodia in the month of January. There were 33 such attacks in 2008 and although there was a dramatic decrease of acid assaults is 2009- there were 12- December ’09 and January ’10 figures seem to show an upsurge. And that's just the official figures, surely there are many more, afterall there is an organisation that works solely with acid-attack victims.

Acid in the face, often thrown from a moving motorcycle, is a favoured method of revenge for spurned lovers or for businessmen who feel that they have been duped. It doesn’t cost much for a couple of hoodlums to carry out an acid hit; labour is cheap and a litre of acid costs just a dollar.

Behind the big Khmer smile it is often easy to see underlying tensions in Cambodian society. Tensions are present in any society, that’s true, but acid-in-the-face is a particularly evil and deliberate crime and it’s a fair reflection of the deep sadness, anger, frustration and, for some, the overwhelming sense of a right to power, that many Cambodians have.

A country riddled with corruption and poverty, a police force unwilling, or incapable of solving some crimes, without adequate mental health doctors and facilities, and with unresolved issues and pain still remaining from the Khmer Rouge era, what's really surprising is that there are not more of these ugly assaults.