By Van Roeun, Elizabeth Tomei and Saing Soenthrith
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
National Police Commissioner Hok Ixindy said Monday that a decision was made to use lethal force on prisoners involved in an attempted jailbreak at Battambang Provincial Prison on Sunday in order to prevent the escape of up to 1,000 inmates.
Hok Lundy also disputed claims by local rights group Adhoc that up to 10 people died following the hours-long police siege at the jail saying that there were only five fatalities.
"The men who held our guard hostage were dealt with. It meant that the last decision was to destroy. Otherwise, they could have caused other prisoners to escape because in the prison there are about 1,000 inmates," Hok Lundy told reporters following an inauguration ceremony for the new Cambodian Red Cross headquarters in Phnom Penh.
"If we could not control the situation, time would drag on until it was dark. Those prisoners are criminals with a pistol and grenade. They could create turmoil," he said.
Police did not gun down inmates en masse, as they would have been criticized for violating human rights, he added. "So the problem was resolved technically," he said.
Adhoc's Battambang office issued a written report on Monday naming nine inmates who it said died during and following the incident on Sunday.
"We still do not know the final number of dead and wounded, however, we can confirm there are eight inmate survivors who are wounded," Adhoc said. Four people died on the night of the incident because they didn't receive sufficient health care in the jail, Adhoc charged.
Citing a guard at the jail. Adhoc reported that a twice-monthly check of inmates' cells—conducted by an inmate rather than guards—had been underway at around 9:30 am on Sunday.
After the inmate opened one cell, another inmate pushed through the door and two small explosions were heard from an unknown location inside the recently built prison.
About 20 inmates then escaped from their cells and guards ran into hiding, Adhoc said.
Prisoners were unable to escape the prison because police outside the compound were shooting at them, and prisoners then threw rocks at the police and opened more cells, Adhoc said.
"There were then about 60 inmates out of their cells" who tried to escape through a back door in the prison's kitchen building, Adhoc said. "When they came outside the police shot at them," killing one and injuring three, the report stated. The report adds that the prisoners were led by inmate Chuon Thy, who took guard Soeung Khun as a hostage. Both men died.
Chan Soveth, an Adhoc investigator, said intervention police dressed in black uniforms arrived by helicopter from Phnom Penh at 2:20 pm, and that two sniper shots were fired into the prison by police who had climbed the prison gates.
Automatic rifles were then fired for approximately two minutes, then tear gas was fired at the besieged inmates and hostage takers. After a short silence, a grenade reportedly being held by prisoner Chuon Thy exploded, according to the Adhoc report.
Police then entered the jail and emerged stating that 10 people were dead, the report adds.
Battambang Deputy Provincial Police Chief Mao Toan said Sunday that he believed the inmates had killed themselves with the grenade when their escape plan failed.
Chan Soveth and Naly Pilorge, director of local rights group Licadho, said both NGOs have been prevented from entering the prison.
"We were told five deaths of prisoners, not nine, but without access, ifs impossible to confirm," Naly Pilorge wrote in an e-mail.
"We are struggling...just to get info but most importantly get access as there are likely wounded prisoners," she wrote.
This is the second time in just over a year that an attempted mass jailbreak has led to multiple deaths of inmates.
A prison break at Kompong Cham province's high-security CC3 prison in March 23, 2005, ended with 17 inmates dead after prison guards opened fire on dozens of prisoners attempting to flee the jail.
Inmates had taken their prison chief two guards and a Ministry of Interior official hostage, armed with the knives and axes they used to make furniture in the prison workshop prior to the break, officials said at the time.
The prison's chief died in hospital in Vietnam several days later from wounds suffered during the failed escape attempt, officials said.
The morning after the jailbreak bodies of slain inmates were hurriedly buried by prison officials inside the prison compound. The names of the dead were never released. At the time, human rights workers were also prevented from entering the prison to assess the situation.
Hok Lundy also disputed claims by local rights group Adhoc that up to 10 people died following the hours-long police siege at the jail saying that there were only five fatalities.
"The men who held our guard hostage were dealt with. It meant that the last decision was to destroy. Otherwise, they could have caused other prisoners to escape because in the prison there are about 1,000 inmates," Hok Lundy told reporters following an inauguration ceremony for the new Cambodian Red Cross headquarters in Phnom Penh.
"If we could not control the situation, time would drag on until it was dark. Those prisoners are criminals with a pistol and grenade. They could create turmoil," he said.
Police did not gun down inmates en masse, as they would have been criticized for violating human rights, he added. "So the problem was resolved technically," he said.
Adhoc's Battambang office issued a written report on Monday naming nine inmates who it said died during and following the incident on Sunday.
"We still do not know the final number of dead and wounded, however, we can confirm there are eight inmate survivors who are wounded," Adhoc said. Four people died on the night of the incident because they didn't receive sufficient health care in the jail, Adhoc charged.
Citing a guard at the jail. Adhoc reported that a twice-monthly check of inmates' cells—conducted by an inmate rather than guards—had been underway at around 9:30 am on Sunday.
After the inmate opened one cell, another inmate pushed through the door and two small explosions were heard from an unknown location inside the recently built prison.
About 20 inmates then escaped from their cells and guards ran into hiding, Adhoc said.
Prisoners were unable to escape the prison because police outside the compound were shooting at them, and prisoners then threw rocks at the police and opened more cells, Adhoc said.
"There were then about 60 inmates out of their cells" who tried to escape through a back door in the prison's kitchen building, Adhoc said. "When they came outside the police shot at them," killing one and injuring three, the report stated. The report adds that the prisoners were led by inmate Chuon Thy, who took guard Soeung Khun as a hostage. Both men died.
Chan Soveth, an Adhoc investigator, said intervention police dressed in black uniforms arrived by helicopter from Phnom Penh at 2:20 pm, and that two sniper shots were fired into the prison by police who had climbed the prison gates.
Automatic rifles were then fired for approximately two minutes, then tear gas was fired at the besieged inmates and hostage takers. After a short silence, a grenade reportedly being held by prisoner Chuon Thy exploded, according to the Adhoc report.
Police then entered the jail and emerged stating that 10 people were dead, the report adds.
Battambang Deputy Provincial Police Chief Mao Toan said Sunday that he believed the inmates had killed themselves with the grenade when their escape plan failed.
Chan Soveth and Naly Pilorge, director of local rights group Licadho, said both NGOs have been prevented from entering the prison.
"We were told five deaths of prisoners, not nine, but without access, ifs impossible to confirm," Naly Pilorge wrote in an e-mail.
"We are struggling...just to get info but most importantly get access as there are likely wounded prisoners," she wrote.
This is the second time in just over a year that an attempted mass jailbreak has led to multiple deaths of inmates.
A prison break at Kompong Cham province's high-security CC3 prison in March 23, 2005, ended with 17 inmates dead after prison guards opened fire on dozens of prisoners attempting to flee the jail.
Inmates had taken their prison chief two guards and a Ministry of Interior official hostage, armed with the knives and axes they used to make furniture in the prison workshop prior to the break, officials said at the time.
The prison's chief died in hospital in Vietnam several days later from wounds suffered during the failed escape attempt, officials said.
The morning after the jailbreak bodies of slain inmates were hurriedly buried by prison officials inside the prison compound. The names of the dead were never released. At the time, human rights workers were also prevented from entering the prison to assess the situation.
4 comments:
This vietcong will use all kind of deathly weaponary to kill Cambodian so that he got our land for his cousins.
man just go and kill him and the job is done.
THis gangters is the most dangerous in Cambodia. He did everything for monies from drugs, killings, human trafficking etc... He sold Cambodian passports for foreigners to make monies.
A criminal as a chief of police? Come on you guys!
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