By Robert Carmichael
DPA
Phnom Penh - Throwing acid is a cruelly effective way of dealing with rivals in love and even business in Cambodia. To date, it is a crime that has often gone unpunished.
That is set to change with the expected passage this year of a law to tackle the issue. But no matter how soon it arrives, it would come too late for hundreds, and possibly thousands, of people.
Among them is 34-year-old Sarun, a former security guard at a Phnom Penh hotel who this year was doused with acid, leaving terrible scars on his face, neck and right arm.
Since then, he has been living at the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity, the country's only facility for acid victims, where along with a dozen other patients, he gets free medical treatment.
Ziad Samman, the charity's coordinator, said acid is widely used in Cambodia on rubber plantations as well as in small industries and even at home.
Acid is also cheap and easily available. And anecdotal evidence showed that many people do not regard throwing acid as a crime.
"And that's why changing perceptions is also very important, and that will take time," Samman said.
Sieng Lapresse is an undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Interior and is the person tasked with drafting the law to combat acid attacks.
Leafing through an Acid Survivors Charity report containing graphic images of injuries to men, women and even children, his disgust at the crime was clear.
"We cannot allow this kind of weapon to go around and keep destroying the lives of our people and especially society itself," he said.
Sieng Lapresse explained the law's wide remit, a key aspect of which is ensuring that those who sell acid are licensed and sell responsibly. Another is legislating stiff penalties for those who use acid to settle disputes.
"We are looking for at least 10 years - maybe [using] a couple of drops and it scratches a little bit - to life in prison," Sieng Lapresse said.
He said he believes the punishments in the legislation ought to have a deterrent effect and said the government is insistent that people stop throwing acid.
"[We are] dead serious," he said. "This cannot go on. We will not allow this horrible weapon to kill our society and our own people."
It is a sentiment clearly shared by those at the charity's compound outside Phnom Penh. Speaking on the veranda, his face and right arm terribly scarred, Sarun said the law could not come soon enough.
"The new law is very significant for Cambodian society because it targets those people who want to throw acid," said Sarun, who did not want his full name used and was reluctant to discuss the motive behind his attack.
"I really want the government to enforce this law strongly against people who throw acid because it causes so much suffering," he said.
The suffering of individual survivors like Sarun is immense, butthe true number of victims is unknown. The charity has recorded 16 victims of acid attacks this year but said it believes the true figure is far higher.
Ziad Samman said Sarun's case highlights a common misconception that most acid attack victims are women. In fact, around half of the 260 survivors the charity has dealt with over the years are men.
Another misconception is that acid attacks are the result of jealousies and affairs.
Samman said half are the result of disputes and a further quarter are simply accidents. Proper labelling of acid containers could easily cut the number of injured.
One aspect the law is unlikely to change is impunity enjoyed by the powerful. But it should raise awareness that throwing acid is an unacceptable way to deal with disputes even if it will have come too late for the men, women and children at the charity, or CASC.
Asked what his future holds, Sarun said it was too early to say. Right now, he needs more operations on top of the three he has already had.
"But if I get well, I would like CASC to find me a job," he said. "Until that happens, I don't think about it. I have to wait until I get better."
That is set to change with the expected passage this year of a law to tackle the issue. But no matter how soon it arrives, it would come too late for hundreds, and possibly thousands, of people.
Among them is 34-year-old Sarun, a former security guard at a Phnom Penh hotel who this year was doused with acid, leaving terrible scars on his face, neck and right arm.
Since then, he has been living at the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity, the country's only facility for acid victims, where along with a dozen other patients, he gets free medical treatment.
Ziad Samman, the charity's coordinator, said acid is widely used in Cambodia on rubber plantations as well as in small industries and even at home.
Acid is also cheap and easily available. And anecdotal evidence showed that many people do not regard throwing acid as a crime.
"And that's why changing perceptions is also very important, and that will take time," Samman said.
Sieng Lapresse is an undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Interior and is the person tasked with drafting the law to combat acid attacks.
Leafing through an Acid Survivors Charity report containing graphic images of injuries to men, women and even children, his disgust at the crime was clear.
"We cannot allow this kind of weapon to go around and keep destroying the lives of our people and especially society itself," he said.
Sieng Lapresse explained the law's wide remit, a key aspect of which is ensuring that those who sell acid are licensed and sell responsibly. Another is legislating stiff penalties for those who use acid to settle disputes.
"We are looking for at least 10 years - maybe [using] a couple of drops and it scratches a little bit - to life in prison," Sieng Lapresse said.
He said he believes the punishments in the legislation ought to have a deterrent effect and said the government is insistent that people stop throwing acid.
"[We are] dead serious," he said. "This cannot go on. We will not allow this horrible weapon to kill our society and our own people."
It is a sentiment clearly shared by those at the charity's compound outside Phnom Penh. Speaking on the veranda, his face and right arm terribly scarred, Sarun said the law could not come soon enough.
"The new law is very significant for Cambodian society because it targets those people who want to throw acid," said Sarun, who did not want his full name used and was reluctant to discuss the motive behind his attack.
"I really want the government to enforce this law strongly against people who throw acid because it causes so much suffering," he said.
The suffering of individual survivors like Sarun is immense, butthe true number of victims is unknown. The charity has recorded 16 victims of acid attacks this year but said it believes the true figure is far higher.
Ziad Samman said Sarun's case highlights a common misconception that most acid attack victims are women. In fact, around half of the 260 survivors the charity has dealt with over the years are men.
Another misconception is that acid attacks are the result of jealousies and affairs.
Samman said half are the result of disputes and a further quarter are simply accidents. Proper labelling of acid containers could easily cut the number of injured.
One aspect the law is unlikely to change is impunity enjoyed by the powerful. But it should raise awareness that throwing acid is an unacceptable way to deal with disputes even if it will have come too late for the men, women and children at the charity, or CASC.
Asked what his future holds, Sarun said it was too early to say. Right now, he needs more operations on top of the three he has already had.
"But if I get well, I would like CASC to find me a job," he said. "Until that happens, I don't think about it. I have to wait until I get better."
9 comments:
The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 14 July 2010 15:02 Jeremy Mullins
Government weighs need for law against computer crimes
CAMBODIA may draft legislation aimed at preventing computer-based crimes, officials said yesterday, as foreign and domestic experts warned that the Kingdom was not immune to malicious attempts to spread viruses and steal information.
As Cambodia becomes more connected to the world, digital security threats have grown in size and complexity, Cybercrime Law Formulation Working Group (CLFWG) deputy head Nuon Pharat said at a workshop at the Council of Ministers’ building in Phnom Penh.
“Some Cambodians have become victim to these crimes,” he said. “Cambodian government websites and private companies have been attacked in the past few years.”
The Ministry of Commerce website was defaced on May 25, and the Ministry of Tourism’s online presence suffered similar online vandalism in February, CLFWG permanent member Ou Phannarith said.
“We need to prepare mechanisms to prevent these problems,” he added.
During a presentation, he showed the MoC website plastered with a hacked message stating “Panic system take over – one Turk against the world”.
Then the Ministry of the Environment was hacked by the “Iran Black Hats Team”, according to a slide show.
Cyber crime is broadly defined as “crime, plus computers”, Phnom Penh-based information security consultant Bernard Alphonso said during a presentation.
He added that cyber crime involves a computer or a similar device, such as a mobile phone, being targeted or used for illicit enterprises – such as hacking, phishing and spam emailing.
“The bad guys are after information,” he said. “Everyone has valuable information, but many don’t realise it’s valuable.”
Cambodia presently has no legislation specifically related to cyber crimes, said Alexander Seger, head of the Economic Crime Division at the Council of Europe.
But several other ASEAN nations have already enacted specific laws on the issue, he said. He added that the Council of Europe recognises that cyber crime as a global problem, and that tackling it only within Europe’s borders was not sufficient – hence his presence in Cambodia. “If I do something wrong in Germany or France it may affect you, and if you do something wrong it may affect me,” he said at the workshop.
He added that training of judges and police was another crucial step in the fight against cyber crime.
Although there is no specific law to tackle computer-based offenses, such crimes are to some extent recognised by Articles 427 to 430 of the Criminal Code covering information and computer technology.
Nuon Pharat said that the CLFWG was gathering input to determine whether new measures were required to expand on these articles.
Yesterday’s workshop kicked off the process of consulting stakeholders about the moves, National ICT Development Authority Deputy Secretary General Chun Vat said.
He said that it was too early to set a date to see legislation submitted.
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I just google and notice that Khmer loves to suck cock both guys and girls. Khmer male loves to suck White tourists' cock to earn few bucks, bang their ass will pay the extra. Khmer girls love to marry Korean, Chinese men to practice being raped and gang bang. Ask your mother and wives, they sure love to and contact us at:
www. Khmerwhoreiseverywhere.com
12:19 PM,
Ah Choy Maray!
Throwing acid is a crime committed by someone intentionally to kill or harm others.
To 12:19PM
When you google did you find your mother and father?
This is a good start by having the law in the book to make those people accountable for their crime!
it's about time, really! cambodia needs it! how many more victims it takes to have this law and strong enforcement. i say zero tolerance!
and cambodia need domestic violence law as well, i mean, it goes both ways as well, a man beats or abuses his wife and children or the wife abuses the husband and children due to some reason, etc... the law should serves that as well!
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