Phak Seangly
The Phnom Penh Post
Thailand repatriated the corpses along with four shells of AK-47 rifle bullets as a way of claiming these supposed loggers fired on them first
Cambodian officials and a human-rights group yesterday condemned the fatal shooting of two Cambodian men who crossed into Thailand on Sunday, allegedly to illegally log.
Thailand yesterday repatriated the bodies of the two men who Thai soldiers gunned down about four kilometres from the Cambodian-Thai border at Battambang province, police said yesterday.
Despite a local report yesterday that the two men were Royal Cambodian Armed Forces soldiers, Nguon Muth, chief of staff at Samlot district police station, identified the victims as civilians Chhorn Vannak, 18 and Lon Puth, 19.
“The deceased were citizens, not Khmer soldiers,” he said.
Chhorn Vannak and Lon Puth, from Samlot commune in Samlot district, were among a group of at least 18 people who had crossed the border with the intention of logging, Nguon Muth said.
“We did not know two of them had been shot dead until the corpses were repatriated early today,” he said yesterday, adding that the victim’s bodies had been sent to their families, who would hold Buddhist ceremonies for them.
Em Dara, deputy commander of Battambang provincial military police, said the men were shot at about midday on Sunday.
“Thailand repatriated the corpses along with four shells of AK-47 rifle bullets as a way of claiming these supposed loggers fired on them first,” he said.
“This is not acceptable. Thai soldiers always put the blame on Cambodian citizens.”
But Sie Sothong, Battambang provincial governor, said reports suggested the alleged loggers had fired the first shots.
“Our citizens fired first, so they fired back for their safety. However, such a shoot and kill is not acceptable under any law.”
Heng Say Hong, provincial investigator for rights group Licadho, condemned the shooting.
“Thai forces should have arrested them, not shot them like this,” he said.
According to Em Dara, nine of the alleged loggers remain missing.
Major-General Dy Phen, chief of the Cambodian-Thai border relations office, said officials of both countries would search for the missing men.
6 comments:
If you're BLIND, put on the damn glasses, idiot!
the thai defend their border, khmer soldier let the viet in.
What do you expect from the barbarians? They are animals...
08:22 AM, heyi fucking lady boy idiot go read the history dating back to 9th,10th, 11th, 12th century the WHOLE FUCKING THAITHIEFLAND AND MALAYSIA, LAOS, BURMA, Central Vietnam to Sourhern Vietnam were all Khmer's land. Now that a long time ago we stupidity lost.
I am not supporting Khmers cross into someone land and steal something. These illegal loggers were wrong but Thai don't need to be JUDGES, JURIES, EXECUTIONERS on the spot. There is such thing as International war crime laws, but Khmer Government is too weak to pursue this. I dont believe anything the fucking Siam say. In the 80's Siam border troops RAPED, ROBBED, TORTURED, KILLED Khmer Refugees all the time. I was 9 years old back then, my mom took me one time to sneak into Thai village to buy mercendises. I saw while hiding the Thai polices gang rape this beautiful Khmer girl until she die. Khmer resistance fighters has to fought about 2 hours to retrieve her body. THAI people I want to tell you as Khmer man I will never forget what you had done to my peoples.
1:12 AM, I agree with you.
Hun Sen government cares little for his own countrymen. Last public announcement, Hun Said said, those that said crossing the borders have noone else to blamed but themselves.
There is nothing we can do, the Siem government will continues to kill our countrymen using the Jungle Law, and Ah Kwak will also use the Jungle Law blaming those that died trying to support their families at home.
Who is stopping the Cambodian soliders from killing the Siem civilians for doing the same act!
Fuck the Siem thugs!
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