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| Meas Peng |
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post
Sam Rainsy Party member and former deputy commune chief in Kandal province, Meas Peng, was released on bail temporarily on Wednesday.
Peng, who was arrested allegedly without a warrant and then escaped from jail last September, was rearrested in June on his original charges of conspiring to use violence against a property owner.
Kandal Provincial Court investigating judge Lim Sokunthat told the Post yesterday that Peng has been released on bail temporarily because police have yet to prove his guilt in conspiring to use violence.
Peng will remain under control of the court during his bail. He is not allowed to leave the country and must appear at the request of the court, Sokunthat said.
“I released him according to the law,” said Sokuntha. “I have seen that he has not caused any problems. Releasing him on bail does not affect the investigation.”
The schedule for Peng’s hearing will be announced after the investigation is closed and when the information is sent to the judge, he confirmed.
Yesterday, Peng told the Post that although he was released temporarily he is happy to return home and see his family.
“I will still continue to engage in politics normally to critique the government,” Peng said.
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Published on Saturday September 15, 2012 Toronto Star: www.thestar.com
"Why one man is risking his life to save Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains"
“In Cambodia, people with money and power think they can do whatever they want,” Hong says.
He knows this firsthand. At the age of 16, Hong watched helplessly as his older brother was beaten by a drunken police officer. The officer, who also served as his village’s chief, was never charged.
“I hate these high-ranking officers,” Hong says. “I want to do everything I can to work against them . . . I want to be a person who makes bad things about Cambodia change.”
Existing communities continue to spread into protected forests, impoverished locals are being hired to clear jungle to create plantations for wealthy Cambodians and foreign companies, and illegal loggers are pushing deeper into the Cardamoms in search of rosewood — an increasingly rare luxury timber that can sell on Chinese markets for as much as $20,000 per cubic metre.
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