Thursday August 24, 2006
Phnom Penh- Cambodian police were cooperating with Interpol and the German embassy as well as authorities inside Cambodia to track down the leader of what they suspected could be a major paedophile ring, a senior police officer said Thursday. Keo Thea, the deputy chief of Phnom Penh's anti-trafficking police, said the investigation remained top secret but revealed that a number of foreigners were being sought, including a person police believed might be the mastermind of the network.
He declined to reveal the nationalities of the suspects, who remained at large or confirm whether police believed the network had been involved in making child pornography for commercial export.
"We are looking for the leader, both inside Cambodia and through Interpol," he said. "We are working very quickly. We are burning our hands and feet to get these people."
The breakthrough came after the arrest earlier this week of German national Karl Heinz Henning, 60, a teacher at a private Phnom Penh school, and Thomas Sigwart Eugen Baron von Engelhardt, 42, also from Germany.
Police alleged they found dozens of video recordings of Vietnamese girls, aged 10 to 14, being bound, whipped and raped inside Henning's flat as well as sexual paraphernalia and computer equipment. They further alleged that Engelhardt, Henning's neighbour, appeared in some of the videos.
Three Vietnamese adults have also been held in connection with the case. Cheng Thit Heu, 45, faces charges of providing her two children, 10 and 14, for sex. Her sister, Cheng Thit You, 21, and her husband, Nguyen Hong Voeng, 20, face charges of acting as go-betweens and procuring the children for sex.
Police said Thursday that five children featured in the videos claimed they were given the drug ecstasy before often violent sexual acts were performed on them repeatedly. The children are now in protective police custody.
Police added that they feared they might be seeking more children featured in further footage as they continue to sift through a huge number of computer files.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said the investigation was ongoing and thorough and said strong cooperation by the German embassy in Phnom Penh had been welcomed by Cambodian authorities.
"We are checking into whether they have police records at home through the embassy," he said. "The help of foreign embassies to assist us in finding and punishing people who do wrong here is very much appreciated."
Police said they raided Henning's home Sunday, acting on a tip after neighbours became suspicious about the comings and goings of a number of girls to the flat. Engelhardt was arrested a day later. The exact origins of the men was unclear although one was believed to be from Munich.
Debauchery - the Cambodian name for paedophilia-related offences - carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Cambodia has made a concerted effort to curb the activities of foreign paedophiles in recent years, arresting and jailing dozens of men, but corruption and poverty as well as easy access to visas and little enforcement of work permits and other controls continue to hamper efforts to track potential child predators from abroad.
He declined to reveal the nationalities of the suspects, who remained at large or confirm whether police believed the network had been involved in making child pornography for commercial export.
"We are looking for the leader, both inside Cambodia and through Interpol," he said. "We are working very quickly. We are burning our hands and feet to get these people."
The breakthrough came after the arrest earlier this week of German national Karl Heinz Henning, 60, a teacher at a private Phnom Penh school, and Thomas Sigwart Eugen Baron von Engelhardt, 42, also from Germany.
Police alleged they found dozens of video recordings of Vietnamese girls, aged 10 to 14, being bound, whipped and raped inside Henning's flat as well as sexual paraphernalia and computer equipment. They further alleged that Engelhardt, Henning's neighbour, appeared in some of the videos.
Three Vietnamese adults have also been held in connection with the case. Cheng Thit Heu, 45, faces charges of providing her two children, 10 and 14, for sex. Her sister, Cheng Thit You, 21, and her husband, Nguyen Hong Voeng, 20, face charges of acting as go-betweens and procuring the children for sex.
Police said Thursday that five children featured in the videos claimed they were given the drug ecstasy before often violent sexual acts were performed on them repeatedly. The children are now in protective police custody.
Police added that they feared they might be seeking more children featured in further footage as they continue to sift through a huge number of computer files.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said the investigation was ongoing and thorough and said strong cooperation by the German embassy in Phnom Penh had been welcomed by Cambodian authorities.
"We are checking into whether they have police records at home through the embassy," he said. "The help of foreign embassies to assist us in finding and punishing people who do wrong here is very much appreciated."
Police said they raided Henning's home Sunday, acting on a tip after neighbours became suspicious about the comings and goings of a number of girls to the flat. Engelhardt was arrested a day later. The exact origins of the men was unclear although one was believed to be from Munich.
Debauchery - the Cambodian name for paedophilia-related offences - carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Cambodia has made a concerted effort to curb the activities of foreign paedophiles in recent years, arresting and jailing dozens of men, but corruption and poverty as well as easy access to visas and little enforcement of work permits and other controls continue to hamper efforts to track potential child predators from abroad.
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