Ex-Khmer Rouge tells how he put prisoners in pits

In this April 6, 2009, Chum Mey, right, 78, a survivor of the S-21 prison during the Khmer Rouge regime, walks into the court room to attend a trial of Former Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, at U.N.-backed tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The former chief of the Khmer Rouge's most notorious prison Tuesday, April 7, apologized to one of his victims sitting in court who was brutally tortured more than 30 years ago in his prison. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

2009-04-07
By SUSAN POSTLEWAITE
Associated Press

"I saw Chum Mey inside the courtroom. I didn't beat up Chum Mey ... The other man beat him. But I ordered the beating. I apologize Mr. Chum Mey. I am fully responsible." - Duch

A former Khmer Rouge prison chief told a court Tuesday that he experimented with many torture methods including tying prisoners to posts, beating them with tree branches and tossing them into communal pits before they were executed.

Facing repeated questions from a genocide tribunal judge, Kaing Guek Eav (pronounced Gang Geck EE-UU), 66, spent much of the day detailing the tools he used to force confessions from the prisoners at the M13 prison he ran in the early days of the ultra-communist regime. He is more commonly known as Duch (pronounced Doik).

The prison was the predecessor to the notorious Tuol Sleng, where 16,000 Cambodians were imprisoned, tortured and executed.

"The torture at that time was monitored by me closely," Duch said, detailing how he routinely ordered prisoners to be placed in communal pits until the monsoon flooded the pits then forced them to stand out in the cold air while soaking wet.

"In general the detainees were beaten with tree branches or detainees were tied to a pole apart from one another so they could not communicate with each other," he added.

Duch spoke during the second week of the U.N.-assisted tribunal for crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as homicide and torture.

Duch is the first senior Khmer Rouge figure to face trial, and the only one to apologize for his actions. Four more are in custody and are scheduled to be tried sometime over the next year.

An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died under the Khmer Rouge from forced labor, starvation, medical neglect and executions.

As he detailed his torture techniques, Duch noticed that one of the surviving victims, Chum Mey, was in the courtroom listening. Accused of being a spy for either the CIA or KGB, Chum Mey had his toenails ripped out at Tuol Sleng, was beaten and given electric shocks.

"I saw Chum Mey inside the courtroom. I didn't beat up Chum Mey," Duch said. "The other man beat him. But I ordered the beating. I apologize Mr. Chum Mey. I am fully responsible."

Chum Mey told reporters earlier in the week that he was not ready to forgive Duch. His wife and child were killed while he was in prison.
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Associated Press writer Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh contributed to this report.