Saturday, October 11, 2008

In Cold blood

Hok Lundy prior to his departure for a visit to the US (Photo: AFP)

A woman prays in front of a portrait of journalist Khim Sambo, who was murdered along with his son in a Phnom Penh street on July 11. Police, who are being aided by the FBI, say they have no suspects in the case. Photo: AFP

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2008
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (Hong Kong)

The circumstances surrounding journalist Khim Sambo’s murder point to official involvement, writes Vincent MacIsaac
"They had no fear of being arrested. They weren’t wearing helmets and made no attempt to disguise their identity" - Chan Soveth, of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association
Two weeks before he and his 21-year-old son were shot dead, Cambodian journalist Khim Sambo reported on a not uncommon topic in opposition-affiliated newspapers. When gamblers from the upper echelons of the ruling Cambodia People’s Party (CPP), accompanied by armed bodyguards or police, have prolonged losing streaks, it sometimes erupts in anger and even violence.

“When they lose, and cannot borrow more from the casino, they arrest the casino owners,” he wrote under one of his numerous pseudonyms, Srey Ka, in the June 28-29 weekend edition of the daily Khmer Conscience, which is affiliated with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP).

However, Khim Sambo – whose own anger needed to be “toned down”, according to a former colleague – went further than most, mocking the behaviour of a senior police officer described by many as “one of the most dangerous men in Cambodia”.

He reported on an incident that allegedly occurred – SRP newspapers are often accused of fabrication or exaggeration – on June 25 at a casino complex at a border crossing with Vietnam in the town of Bavet in Svay Rieng province.

After losing his shirt at Le Macau Casino and Hotel, the officer borrowed from the casino, lost that, borrowed more – and lost again. When the casino manager refused to lend any more, he had him arrested by the junior officers accompanying him, Khim Sambo reported.

He went further, describing how the officer stacked the deck: “When he loses US$100,000, the casino returns US$50,000. But he plays until losing the returned money, and demands to borrow more. If any casino owner dares to say ‘no’, he threatens to arrest him.”

Khim Sambo did not identify the officer by name but dropped enough hints so that when he concluded his report by stating “there is no need to name [the CPP gamblers] because everyone in Cambodia knows who they are”, he assumed readers would be able to identify the officer, a source said.

“He did not think he had put himself in danger because he did not identify the officer by name,” the source said on condition of anonymity. Several others – all of whom requested anonymity, citing concern for personal security – said that Khim Sambo was writing about Cambodian National Police Commissioner Hok Lundy.

The former governor of Svay Rieng province has been at the top of Cambodia’s police force since 1994. “There is hardly anyone in Cambodia who has shown more contempt for the rule of law than Hok Lundy,” Human Rights Watch has said. He “represents the absolute worst Cambodia has to offer”, it said.

We believe the killing is related to that article,” Son Chhay, the whip of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party claimed, though he declined to identify the subject of the article.

The editor of Khmer Conscience, Dam Sith, who had been jailed on defamation charges in June, said he knew nothing about the article when interviewed by phone last Thursday.

That day, he was interviewed by one of the two agents from America’s FBI, said to be “supporting” their Cambodian counterparts in the investigation.

“I told them I don’t know anything about who is behind the killing, and that I hope they find who it is,” he said.

Chan Soveth, a programme officer at the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, warned that “if the FBI cannot work independently [their assistance] is just a political game”.

He arrived at the scene of the double homicide about 30 minutes after it occurred at about 6.30pm on July 11 and has been investigating ever since. He fears the police are protecting the perpetrators rather than trying to solve the crime.

Khim Sambo, 47, bled to death on the side of a busy street in central Phnom Penh, minutes after being shot twice in the back while riding a motorcycle driven by his son Khat Sarinpheata. The young man died the next day in a Phnom Penh hospital, after being shot twice while cradling his dying father, said Chan Soveth.

The killers, two men on a motorbike who approached Khim Sambo and his son from behind, were probably hired assassins, he said, pointing out that they used a K-49 pistol with a silencer.

“They had no fear of being arrested. They weren’t wearing helmets and made no attempt to disguise their identity. They acted like they were under protection,” Chan Soveth said.

When he arrived at the scene, he was able to gather information from bystanders but, when he returned the following morning, no one would speak to him, he said. Silence permeates human rights groups in Cambodia. When asked who he thought was behind the killing, Chan Soveth declined to answer. “I want to continue living in Cambodia,” he said.

He believes the murders were intended to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the July general election, which the CPP won by a landslide. This view was widely promoted by Cambodian and international human rights groups who expressed outrage following the killing.

But SRP whip Son Chhay disputes that there was any link between the killings and the election. “It was not a political killing,” he said. “There was no order from the top of the CPP,” he said. “[Prime Minister] Hun Sen does not know who is behind the killings. If Hun Sen knew who was behind the killings, the FBI would not have been allowed to join the investigation.”

He added: “The FBI has been allowed in because the CPP believes they will be unable to find evidence of government involvement,” though he in no way suggests that the CPP has turned benevolent.

Their behaviour, their totalitarian thinking is very much like the Khmer Rouge. Either you support the CPP or you are an enemy of the state. Killing opposition members is acceptable,” he said.

Son Chhay and Chan Soveth said they feared that the FBI was likely to be used by the Cambodian police to provide a veneer of legitimacy to what the latter described as a “sham investigation”.

Son Chhay noted: “They have this great ability to manipulate the international community and they will manipulate the FBI to make sure nothing happens [with the investigation].”

This is already happening, he said, pointing to a police statement published in the Cambodia Daily this month quoting Phnom Penh’s police commissioner as saying that an “FBI official had agreed that the killings were motivated by someoneseeking revenge against the journalist’s son”.

Senior police officers have suggested that the target of the killers was not Khim Sambo but his son.

In his initial report into the crime, Chan Soveth found no evidence thateither the father or the son were involved in a personal dispute that could have led to their murders.

US embassy spokesman John Johnson said he was aware that some human rights investigators had accused the local police of a cover-up. Because the investigation was ongoing, he said, he could not comment on the details of the case.

The FBI agents were playing a “purely supportive” role in the investigation at the invitation of the interior ministry, he said. Besides two investigators, who arrived on September 14, a forensic artist had arrived last week to assist localpolice with a sketch of the assailants, he added.

One day after meeting the FBI agents, Phnom Penh deputy police chief Hy Prou, who is in charge of the investigation, said there were no leads on a suspect and that the complexities of the case made investigating it difficult.

However, the fact that editor Dam Sith was interviewed for the first time after the FBI agents arrived could signal that the bureau is nudging the Cambodian police in a new direction – towards the articles Khim Sambo wrote before he was killed.

In an interview at his home last Saturday, Dam Sith said that one of the questions asked by the FBI agent, who was accompanied by a translator from the US embassy and two Cambodian officers, concerned the kind of articles Khim Sambo had written for him. He said he replied: “A lot of articles about different things.”

Dam Sith is a father with three young children. Since Khim Sambo’s killing he does not leave his home unless he has to. He looked like he had not slept in weeks and was in a highly nervous state.

In 2006, Hok Lundy was denied a US visa due to allegations that he was involved in drug and human trafficking. The following month, however, the FBI awarded him a medal for his efforts in fighting terrorism. In April last year, he was finally granted a US visa, to attend a counter-terrorism workshop.

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

John McCain bombarded Cambodia before he was caught by Vietnamese in 1967!

That Sihanouk who signed with Us to destroyed Vietcong invader.

Anonymous said...

Hok Lundy... These kinds of creatures should be exterminated off the face of the planet. I hope he either dies or someone murders him soon. I wonder why he didn't get murdered by the Khmer Rouge? He was part of the Khmer Rouge but he wasn't even KHMER!

Fuck this YUON filth.

Anonymous said...

http://amekhmer.free.fr/khcrucial-event/1special-khrouge/1khmer-sayno.pdf

18 MARS 1970
LE PEUPLE KHMER A DIT NON AUX COMMUNISTES VIETNAMIENS
Pour cela, il a payé un lourd tribut de 1970 à 1975 et a subi le génocide de 1975 à 1979 commis par
les khmers rouges, alors alliés des communistes vietnamiens.
Le 18 mars 1970 a conduit à la DESTITUTION LEGALE par l'Assemblée Nationale de SIHANOUK
alors Chef d'Etat du Cambodge. Les manifestations populaires du 11 mars 1970 avaient surpris par
leur ampleur et avaient bloqué le personnel des ambassades du Nord-Vietnam et du GRP à PHNOMPENH.
Dès l'évacuation de leurs ambassades demandée par l'ambassade de Pologne et avec l'accord du
gouvernement khmer, les Nord Vietnamiens et les Vietcongs ont lancé leurs divisions blindées et plus
de 60.000 soldats contre les principales villes du Cambodge, SANS DECLARATION DE GUERRE
préalable.
Toute la population khmère, jeunes et vieux, bonzes , collégiens, lycéens, professeurs se sont
mobilisés pour défendre le pays, soutenu par des milliers de Khmers Kroms, venus avec leur famille
défendre la mère Patrie au péril de leurs vies.
Continuer à soutenir la thèse du "Coup d'état du Maréchal Lon NOL" , c'est salir la mémoire de tous
ces compatriotes qui sont morts pour défendre la Patrie, c'est refuser d'admettre la responsabilité de
SIHANOUK dans la tragédie qui a frappé notre peuple qui continue à vivre une situation dramatique
actuellement.
Ceux qui continuent à nier ces faits sont les véritables traîtres à notre patrie et ils outragent la
mémoire de nos disparus.
QU'ILS SOIENT TOUS MAUDITS A JAMAIS. RAPPEL DES ERREURS COMMISES PAR
SIHANOUK
1 : abdication en faveur de son père en Mars 1955, afin de disposer de plus de pouvoirs
2 : Création du mouvement unique "Sangkum Reastr Niyum" en 1955 pour détruire le système
politique établi par la constitution de 1947 et basé sur pluralisme.
3 : Répression contre les différents partis politiques pour aboutir à leur disparition définitive.
4 : Dans le contexte de la guerre du Vietnam, affaiblissement de la Défense Nationale , en envoyant
les militaires et fonctionnaires participer à des travaux agricoles au lieu de renforcer les moyens de
l'armée et son entraînement.
5 : Abandon de la neutralité khmère en se rapprochant toujours plus de la Chine communiste qui l'a
reçu "royalement" à Pékin, lors de ses nombreuses visites. Cette politique très engagée a ruiné
l'équilibre des forces en présence, notamment par la rupture des relations diplomatiques avec les
Etats-Unis en 1965 et le renvoi de la Commission Internationale de Contrôle, laquelle était chargée de
veiller à la neutralité du Cambodge, en 1969.
6 : Soutien politique et assistance logistique aux communistes vietnamiens , aboutissant à l'installation
de nombreuses bases VC/NVN en territoire khmer dans les années 1960.
7 : Fuite à l'étranger en janvier 1970 , lorsque la situation du Cambodge est devenue très critique du
fait des infiltrations croissantes des forces communistes vietnamiennes.
8 : Refus de prendre en compte les aspirations du peuple khmer lors des manifestations de mars
1970 en refusant de recevoir une délégation spéciale que le gouvernement avait proposée d'envoyer
le 13 mars pour résoudre la crise.
9 : Alliance "Royale" avec les communistes indochinois pour se venger d'avoir été écarté du pouvoir.
10 : TOUJOURS SE POSER EN VICTIME INNOCENTE. NE JAMAIS RECONNAITRE SES FAUTES.
NB : CECI N'EST PAS UN SOUTIEN A LON NOL ET SES ACCOLYTES QUI ONT BRISE LA
SOLIDARITE ET LA FRATERNITE DU PEUPLE KHMER ET ONT MENE LE PAYS A SA CHUTE
PAR LEUR INCOMPETENCE ET LEUR CORRUPTION.
©

Anonymous said...

It is 1000% true that the most powerful person in Cambodia is nothing else, but Hok Lundy. All officers fear Hok Lundy, all gangsters and broad assasins will be revealed if Hok Lundy is arrested and questioned.

Anonymous said...

• Who Killed Chea Vichea
• Cambodias Family Trees (en)
• Ho Sok - Funcipec
• March 30, 1997
• Coup, July 7, 1997
• Om Radsady
• Assassination of Om Radsady
• Exclusive Hun Sen's Dirty Jobs
• Statement of Heng Peov
• Statement of Heng Peov
• Statement of Peov in Khmer-I
• Statement of Peov in Khmer-II
• Piseth Pilika

Anonymous said...

And WHO KILLED 2 087 609 INNOCENT KHMER?
China said that Vietnam and Viet nam said that china.
please enjoy with ECCC!

http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2008/09/cambodian-tribunal-worries-about.html

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=KHb_K_tOS6k&feature=related

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=JFYsPvT81VU

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=cVJ9sk073Jg

Anonymous said...

Rom Duol Prey Norkor is super

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=zb84E71yiS4

.............................

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=huZ1oiRMClI&feature=related


http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=KrBbRN-5YOA

Anonymous said...

Hun Xen and Hok Long Dy are killers the jornalit and all the others:Chea Vichea,Piseth Paklika,....!!
The both Hun Xen and Hok Long Dy are murders!!!

Anonymous said...

Look ! This is the real face of a most hatred man: the Killer Hok Lundy

Anonymous said...

BUT SO FAR HE WON! LAW OF THE JUNGLE BAD GUY WINS>>>GOOD GUYS SLEEP IN THE GRAVE! ISN'T THAT TRUE?

Anonymous said...

Yes it's true as long as Hun sen rules,which is the fact and it seems to be forever(unless overthrown by Force not by Election but it will never happen!)Hok lundy, Sok Anh will be on the throne until they die of natural cause! Lucky son of a bitch....Khmer people especially the poor will suffer! but Who Cares? No God nothing on earth it's just illucinating! and on people mind...Bad guys wins for sure!

Anonymous said...

What I don't understand is how the casino stays in business if these polices keeps on robbing them hundreds of thousands at the time and arrested them ...

I don't think Ah Sambo deserved what he get for abusing his power to attack innocent hardworking people with nonsense just to boost his business image and friends.

Anonymous said...

correction:

I think Ah Sambo deserved what he get for abusing his power to attack innocent hardworking people with nonsense just to boost his business image and friends.

Anonymous said...

9:53 PM

Tell your father ah chhoy mray Ho Lung Duc to prepare his funeral. Your fat pig Tep Vong father will go straight there.

The stench of the Tep Vong is not welcome here in Cambodia.

Anonymous said...

Gangs Hun, Hok, Heng are killers.

Anonymous said...

Come on, guy, get serious. Just tell me how the Casino stays in business when police abused them? Don't you ever want to know the truth?

Anonymous said...

11:43PM

Stupid man, lost 5000$ will lead to bankrupcy of the Casino?

It is just a random misbehavior of this gangster leader during his very obsessive emotion of losing the game.

Of course, he can take more money from other sources rather than intimidating or arresting the Casino's owner...but it is just his obsessive moment....understand?

This is not his first time...there are numerous reports about Hok Lundy's misbehavior and legal intruding.

You should not use this logic to legitimize the ugly man.

Anonymous said...

Hok Lundy..is YOUN pupet, as we all knew that..He's involded with drug and Human trafficking..I wished someone kill this mother fucker soon..the whole world knew that Hok Lundy involed with the death of KHIM SAMBO,AND HIS SON. He'll be kill for what he had done!
HOK LUNDY is blood spilt..!! YOUN-HOK LUNDY mother fuchker!!

Anonymous said...

Hok Lundy..is the killer!! this blood shirst..killed khim sambo and his son..this YOUN-HOK is a drug dealer!!!!!

Anonymous said...

2:20, the casino in Cambodia does make as much money as casino in Vegas or Macau.

5000$ is a lot of money, and if it happen periodically, it will certainly to force the business to shut down.

In any case, here what it said,
"He went further, describing how the officer stacked the deck: “When he loses US$100,000, the casino returns US$50,000. But he plays until losing the returned money, and demands to borrow more. If any casino owner dares to say ‘no’, he threatens to arrest him.”
"


And it sounds so fairy tale, and when you included innocent people in your fairy tale without their permission, that is a crime.

Anonymous said...

correction: 2:20, the casino in Cambodia doesn't make as much money as casino in Vegas or Macau.

Anonymous said...

7:24AM

Your are lossing your point idiot! $10000US was just his money, and Casino feared his power...they gave back to him 5000US, so Casino still earn 5000US from his gambling addiction. No need to compare with Vegas or Macau according this story.

But your idiot is continuing to fairy tale...what you mean by fairy tale when the name in here is not revealed...all are in animousity...but after he died they decoded it and they know the truth of the news....don't try to protect thug with your low logic idiot.

He has to receive the crime he did...it is uncountable crime raised in Cambodia to intimidate those high ranking officers as well as the whole nation.

CPP can not keep this type of thug in their house...if so CPP will be eliminated from this guy.

Anonymous said...

No, it doesn't work that way. The casino has only so much chance or odd to make profit. If someone lose 1$ and they return .5$, then they can't make profit. And when you don't have profit, you are wasting time with the casino. It's better to go into something else. Furthermore, there is an abuse as stated. That is the officer want to borrow more after losing the RETURNED moneys, and if the owner deny him, they will be arrested. That is not very realistic. No business man on this planet will cope with that, and that is why it's unrealistic, not to mention how the hell does one know about the 100,000$, 50,000$, the borrowing ... These are private information. Sambo is no detective or investigator. He fabricated the story to screw up innocent people.

And you don't need name in a fairy tale, just title is enough to implied anyone of the innocent people. And when that happened, some people will retaliated. That type of journalist conduct and abuse will not be acceptable in Cambodia.

Anonymous said...

Oh well, No Gain = No Lost.

Anonymous said...

Accusing innocent people for political gain is Ah Scam Rainxy's trade mark.

Again, Ah Savage Killer Scam Rainxy got people Killed for his own benefit. He doesn't give a damn about anyone.

Anonymous said...

Before the war,Cambodia was independent,neutral country with a population of 7.7 million.

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=1U-UQPfm2rI

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=axCSr7U3tBE&NR=1

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=X6D5IYR4obo&feature=related

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=VIF2UBI-IGE

http://fr.youtube.com/user/maitreyaproject

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_khmer

Anonymous said...

Kanduoy mae ah chhkae krub khnea. Puok ahaeng nis sot tae samlab reas, bamphlanh reas teang os. Ah choy mray hun sen, ah choy mray, heng samrin, ah choy mray chea sim, ah choy mray hok lundy, ah choy mray tia banh, ah choy mray tep vong, ah choy mray kae kim yan, ah choy mray touch naroat, ah choy mray keat chhun, ah choy mray cham prasit, ah choy mray khiev kanharit, ah choy mray nguon nhil, ah choy mray nhueuk bun chhay, ah choy mray ranarit, ah choy mray chaem snguon, ah choy mray sok ann, ah choy mray hor nam hong ning ah choy mray chhkae yuon chroen neak teat dael anh cham chhmuos min os. Mi choy mray bun rany, mi choy mray men sam an ning mi choy mray do santhik santhoab teat dael anh min cham chhmuos dae. Puok ah choy mray kanh cheas yuon keu lit teuk kanduoy yuon min aoy chrus dol dey muoy dam nok, mi choy mray kanh cheas yuon keu yuon bok kanduoy vea loeng stik os hoey. Puok ahaeng mi ngaeng min kuo na nov ruos, nis mok pi puok khmer kraham vea meul min os, vea phlich tam dan aoy chbas, vea phleu baeb nis hoey teub vea trov puok a yuon mi yuon vea yok mok kat tos. Tae puok ah kbal yuon mi kbal yuon ko chea khmer kraham doch khnea dae, vea kroan tae leak put leak muk hoey luoch banh chenh chang kom kham reas khmer mdong muoy rohot os khmer pi dey khmer. Eylon nis keu sot tae ah yuon mi yuon ches niyeay khmer chbas hoey rean nov thnak khpuos, chenh tveu ka chea neak thom truot kbal ah khmer kbal yuon roal thngay.
AH CHOY MRAY OS AHAENG KUO TAE SLAB AOY OS PI KAMPUCHEA.

Pi anh dael meul kheunh ka pit.

Anonymous said...

9:05 AM

This is only few thugs in Cambodia including Hok Lundy who is the most powerful policeman.

So, others can not break the law which can make Casino earn benefits from them.

Casino's owner cannot tolerate this thuggish behavior of Hok Lundy, that why they reported to Khim Sombo, our honest news reporter affiliated to His Excellency Sam Rainsy (SRP) to report the truth to the public.

He takes a risk to his life and family in order to reveal the thug Hok Lundy to the public...his death will not in vain because he can flesh out this very dangerous thug....FBI will step in to clear thug Hok Lundy and his gangsters especially the Viet spies...

Anonymous said...

What? Where did you got that from? I mean the Casino owner reported to Simbo. Nornally, if that is the case, Journalist will have stated something about the source. Whether it is anonymous or whatever. You have to give people credit for giving you the report.

But here, Simbo fabricated the story. He got no name and no source because there is none. He fabricated the story to defame the CPP in the election so that the SRP will gain vote. This is nothing new. It's a typical Sam Rainsy's dirty tactic to win the election.

There are lot of mistery in his fairy tale. If what he said is true, a lot of our casino is currently operated without owner because they are all in jail.... Gangs don't often abuse just one casino, bank, store, ... . They abuse all.

The truth of the matter is, if Hok Lundy is guilty. It is safer for him to disclose Hok Lundy. Then Hok Lundy will filed a defamation charge against him to protect his job, and everything will unfold in the court, everyone will be safe.

Anonymous said...

Please save Khmer People. Send Ah Savage Killer Scam Rainxy and his clan back to Zimbabwe!

Anonymous said...

Burn in hell Ah Jkout (Sambo).

Anonymous said...

Yeah, and don't come back!

Anonymous said...

6:02 PM

You should not be so idiot, even Sambo didn't reveal the identity of the news giver or reported it unanimously, he still be charged his life to death unjustly. All crimes to death in Cambodia from the past to present have never been found any perpetrators, why? Because head of national police is behind those crimes.

But it is the game, for his political benefits and excuse, he invited FBI to investigate with less corporation from his team.

Sambo was couragous to report this sensitive news...even his chief editor Dam Sith is still be scary to talk about this case because of a powerful man behind this killing...

It is a cold blood "They had no fear of being arrested. They weren’t wearing helmets and made no attempt to disguise their identity"....why the killers are so brave?

Anonymous said...

8:14 PM
Shame on you, your family, and Cambodia nation that even though the dead one like Kim Sambo under the broad day shooting in the heart of city has been still receiving cursing and swearing from you.

Anonymous said...

Wrong, fool (12:43). In Cambodia, if you abuse your power as a journalist, you die. We are not going to allow the disease to spread and infect our society.

We thank all of our heroes for protecting Khmer from evil like Ah Sambo.

Anonymous said...

aneh when are you going to be a fake siam again passing comments as siam, defend siam on preah vihear ? u fuckin disgrace

Anonymous said...

Who the hell want to defend Siem on Preah Vihear? They don't want the temple, but the Khmer-Siem does.

Anonymous said...

2:05AM

Your statement is correctly that the gunmen in Cambodia will kill all those critics who are gunless....this is correct with the assumption of Vietnamization in current Cambodia in the form of "Police State".

If your brain is in this way....I let you go idiot.

Anonymous said...

This is not a critic, 12:28, but a groundless accusation of a group of innocent people. What would you do if a journalist accused your family and relatives of poisoning Khmer food supplies? Don't tell me that you see this as a criticism. Wake up, fool!