China villagers in revolt demand dead man's body

In this photo taken on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011, villagers hold placards chanting slogans as they march around their village during a protest in Wukan village, in China's Guangdong province. A man from a southern Chinese fishing village whose death in police custody helped spark a rare revolt was given a hero's farewell Friday as thousands of tearful residents mourned what they called his sacrifice for them. (AP Photo)

December 17, 2011
By Gillian Wong
Associated Press

BEIJING—Thousands of residents of a southern Chinese village staging a rare revolt are calling on authorities to return the body of a local representative whose death in police custody helped sparked the rebellion.

The villagers, who have driven local authorities from the area, gathered at a square outside a local temple Saturday to shout slogans calling for the return of farmland they say has been sold to developers without their consent and to urge the central government to intervene, said resident Qin Zhuan, a woman contacted by phone.

"We have been wronged," the villagers chanted, according to Qin. "Long live the central government! Strike down corrupt officials."

Corruption fight: Watchdog makes debut

Friday, 16 September 2011
Meas Sokchea and Bridget Di Certo
The Phnom Penh Post

Corruption fight

Rights watchdog Transparency International made its debut yesterday at the National Anti-Corruption Conference on civil society engagement in fighting corruption. Transparency International’s Cambodia chapter was made official in July this year when it received registration approval from the Ministry of the Interior. Since then, it has launched a three-year strategic plan for a more accountable and transparent Cambodian society, said Rath Sophoan, its chairman. While speakers at yesterday’s event applauded Cambodia’s passage of the Anti-Corruption Law, Om Yentieng, president of the Anti-Corruption Commission was a notable absence at the conference. He was reportedly called away to attend a matter in the provinces. “We have a good working relationship with the Anti-Corruption Unit and we look forward to furthering our relationship and cooperation,” Rath Sophoan said by email. The American and Australian ambassadors stressed that the ultimate victims of corruption are the poorest. “Corruption…has the most serious ramifications for the most vulnerable citizens and nations,” said US Ambassador Carol Rodley.

Anti-corruption law in Khmer and English [-If only they follow it....]

http://www.box.net/shared/d10l38xz2h43hjehglk6

ACU declines to set deadline for officials [-Does ACU stand for Ah See Yoo (eat for a long time) in Khmer?]

Tuesday, 14 June 2011 15:02
Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

The government’s anticorruption unit has declined to set a new deadline for about 300 high-ranking government officials who failed to lodge an asset declaration before an April 7 deadline as part of an effort to tackle graft in the Kingdom.

“We found that individual officials who failed to lodge an asset declaration because of personal problems such as illness or living far away …[that] it is an appropriate reason,” ACU President Om Yentieng said yesterday.

“Therefore we cannot force them [to respect the law], we will wait until they can come.”

April Fool’s wealth declaration by Hoon Xhen

(Photo: Reuters)

31 March 2011
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Soch

According to a communiqué from the press office of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), Hun Xen will come the ACU office at 04 PM on 01 April to declare his wealth as stipulated by the anti-corruption law. Keo Remy, ACU spokesman, said that Hun Xen’s trip sets an example for all government officials whose obligation is to declare their wealth. The ACU sets 07 April as the cutoff date for wealth declaration.

RCAF forced to declare assets

Cambodia's OPERETTA generals, good at barking, human rights violations and corruptions (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

Defence Minister Tea Banh has announced that high-ranking officials in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces will be required to submit asset declarations to the government’s Anticorruption Unit next month.

“We can’t now say how many members of the RCAF will be required to make an asset declaration, but individual military officials who were appointed by royal decree and subdecree will be required to declare their assets,” Tea Banh said at an annual military review at the Royal Cambodian Navy headquarters on Tuesday.

Under new anticorruption legislation passed in March, senior officials will be required to declare their personal assets by February 28, part of a bid to fight endemic levels of graft.

CPP Tycoon-Gov't Officials can't take the heat?

Has this tycoon-land thief (R) resigned also?

Tycoons quit before declaring assets

Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

Ten tycoons have asked permission to resign their government posts following the introduction of new rules requiring senior officials to disclose their assets to anti-graft authorities, an official said on Tuesday.

Sieng Borath, deputy president of the Anticorruption Unit, said that the businessmen – which included senators, members of parliament and advisors to senior officials – tendered their resignations when asset declarations became mandatory at the start of this month.

He did not name names, and emphasised that those reportedly involved were not resigning in an attempt to cover up ill-gotten gains, but were instead afraid they might accidentally leave some of their many assets off the declaration form.

“An oknha [tycoon], he has his legitimate job. There is nothing involved with corruption, but he finds it difficult because of his many assets,” Sieng Borath said in a speech on asset declarations at the Ministry of Information on Tuesday.

Anti-corruption celebration in Cambodia

Cambodia makes first anti-corruption arrest

2010-12-01
Associated Press

An official says a Cambodian provincial prosecutor has become the first person to be arrested under a new anti-corruption law.

The head of the government's anti-corruption unit, Om Yentieng, says Pursat provincial prosecutor Tob Chan Sereivuth was charged Tuesday with accepting bribes to release timber smugglers and with extorting money from local people, the military and other officials.

Cambodia, a poor country heavily dependent on foreign aid, is routinely listed by groups such as Transparency International as one of the most corrupt in Asia. Under the anti-corruption law, any official found guilty of taking bribes faces up to 15 years in prison.

Anti-corruption unit makes arrests [-How about the most corrupt first family in the kingdom, when will they be arrested?]

Dec 1, 2010
AFP

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA'S new anti-corruption unit announced its first arrests on Wednesday as one of the world's most corrupt nations tries to prove it is serious about fighting rampant graft.

Top Chan Sereivuth, a prosecutor at a court in western Pursat province, was arrested along with his two bodyguards on Monday, said the chief of the country's anti-corruption unit.

'He (the prosecutor) was charged with corruption, the illegal detention of people and extortion,' Om Yentieng told reporters in the capital. 'He abused his power,' he added.

The bodyguards face charges of illegal detention and extortion.

The three suspects allegedly detained two men and extorted thousands of dollars from them in an incident in June, said Om Yentieng, who is also a top adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Authorities are still hunting for a fourth suspect, the prosecutor's brother-in-law who is believed to play key role in the case, he added.

Cambodia's new anti-corruption unit names first suspect

December 1, 2010
ABC Radio Australia

Cambodia's new Anti-Corruption Unit has named its first suspect, a prosecutor of a provincial court, in what many see as the first test of the much-criticised unit.

Police arrested the official and two of his bodyguards on Monday morning in Pursat province. The exact reasons for his arrest are unclear, but local human rights workers say he's notorious for corruption and for shooting up a restaurant three years ago.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane

Speakers: Keo Remy, spokesman Cambodia's Anti-Corruption Unit; Nget Theavy, Pursat province coordinator, human rights group ADHOC; Son Chhay, MP opposition Sam Rainsy Party; Thun Saray, director, ADHOC

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

COCHRANE: When Cambodia's Anti-Corruption Unit was formed three months ago, many critics of the government predicted it would be a toothless tiger, a way to be seen as tackling corruption while carefully managing who is targeted.

So when Om Yentieng, the head of the unit and advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen, personally led police to the house of its first suspect, it was clearly a declaration of intent.

Spokesman for the Unit, Keo Remy, says there has been a positive response to the Unit's first arrest.

REMY: Yeah we got support, more support from the people. From Phnom Penh and in the civil servants, military police and sometime from everywhere they call me and they're very happy. Even in the Office of the Council of Minister they appreciate that.

COCHRANE: This year, Cambodia ranked 154 out of 178 countries on Transparency International's corruption index.

In April, the Government passed an anti-corruption law that had been 15 years in the making and created the Anti-Corruption Unit headed by the Prime Minister's advisor.

The Unit's first case involves Top Chan Sereyvuth, a local court official who's well known to Nget Theavy... the Pursat province coordinator for human rights group ADHOC.

NGET: There are many stories about him. He used to shoot his gun at people, threaten people and conduct illegal business.

COCHRANE: In 2007, the Asian Human Rights Commission reported that a journalist was assaulted by military police after investigating allegations Mr Top had fired five rounds into a restaurant after becoming intoxicated.

Last year, local media reported his involvement in a long-running land dispute that was moved to the Pursat court from another province where Mr Top had previously worked as a judge.

Keo Remy from the Anti-Corruption Unit, didn't say exactly what charges would be used against Top Chan Sereyvuth but he said there were plenty to choose from.

KEO: Sometimes he used his bodyguards and brother in law to be police justice to arrest someone in Pursat province and the other case that involves with corruption case. Most of the people in the province they want to see the judge in the province to punish that guy.

COCHRANE: Son Chhay, an MP from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said the case will be a test of the government's resolve on corruption.

SON: To have this guy arrested is quite a surprising thing. We hope that it will be the genuine one, not the political one. The government should not hide any evidence, any information regarding to this particular prosecutor.

COCHRANE: Son Chhay said the opposition had been concerned about the recruitment of staff to the Anti-Corruption Unit, alleging family and friends of senior officials had been hired in a way that didn't bode well for transparency.

But Thun Saray, the head of human rights group ADHOC welcomed the arrests as a good first step.

THUN: In the first instance we cannot do everyone. But this kind of medium fish, we can have some hope the big fish also should be scared to do the corruption acts. And the small fish, they also worry about their safety if the Anti-Corruption committee try to work effectively.

COCHRANE: Spokesman for Cambodia's Anti-Corruption Unit, Keo Remy, says this first arrest is just the start.

REMY: It's not only one. It's not the first time. There's going to be more.

Senior Cambodian prosecutor arrested by new anti-graft body

Nov 30, 2010
DPA

Phnom Penh - Officials from Cambodia's fledgling Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) have arrested a senior provincial prosecutor on unspecified charges, national media reported Tuesday.

It marks the first known arrest of a public official by the ACU, which was launched earlier this year to tackle pervasive corruption in public life.

The Cambodia Daily newspaper said Top Chan Sereyvuth, the senior prosecutor in Pursat province, was arrested early Monday.

ACU head Om Yentieng, who led the operation, refused to disclose the grounds on which the prosecutor was being held.

Top Chan Sereyvuth was last year named in media reports as being involved in a long-running land dispute case that was mysteriously moved to his court in Pursat from another province where he had previously worked as a judge.

The head of an organization that was contesting the land told media at the time that Top Chan Sereyvuth was to receive 2 hectares of land once the case was resolved.

Global graft monitor Transparency International ranks Cambodia among the world's most corrupt nations.

It took the government 15 years to promulgate an anti-corruption law, whose eventual passage followed years of pleading from donors who annually give hundreds of millions of dollars.

One recent survey found that Cambodians regard the judiciary as the most corrupt institution in the country.

New Institution in Cambodia

A tool to combat corruption gains ground [-Still a long way to go for Cambodia]

Oct 05, 2010
By Ng Jing Yng
Today Online (Singapore)

BRUSSELS - In Hungary, giving citizens the right to obtain information has allowed them to question and even expose several million-dollar corruption scandals and discrepancies within government.

This includes ongoing allegations in a $670-million purchase of fighter jets from a Swedish company and a 1995 incident in which Hungarian authorities bought electricity from private agencies without a public tender.

Besides being a basic human right, the right to information is an important tool toward combating corruption, Mr Adam Foldes, legal officer at Transparency International's Hungarian chapter said in a lead-up event to the Asia-Europe Meeting Summit in Brussels.

As more information becomes available online, he said, people will demand greater transparency and develop greater awareness of their right to question and receive answers.

For developing nations, this opportunity to engage and give opinions will help in nation-building and stabilise people's trust in their leaders, added Mr Foldes at a two-day workshop that began Saturday, organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation

Participants from Asia and Europe agreed that having access to public information was key to an efficient administration, instilling trust in decision makers and promoting economic growth.

Countries in Europe are at different stages of implementing the right to information, while awareness is gradually rising in Asia.

There has been greater interest in this as people recognise its benefits and start to pressure their governments to disclose information, said Mr Allan Alegre of Foundation for Media Alternatives.

The executive director of the non-governmental organisation added that "the right to information is the oxygen of democracy", but the challenges in implementing it come from threats by profit-making corporations or governments that strive to hold onto their power.

Cambodia is one country where - even though livelihood is still the main concern - people are gradually beginning to understand the concept and benefits of the right to information, said Mr Neb Sinthay of Cambodian NGO, the Advocacy and Policy Institute.

Having knowledge protects them, for instance, from being overcharged by others such as errant public healthcare providers or government school operators.

With Cambodia having passed an anti-corruption law in March, Mr Neb is hopeful the government will eventually adopt legislature on the right to information.

"This will help to eradicate corruption and push the country forward. This right is important, especially if we want to advance in this globabilised world and rapidly changing society," he added.

Cambodian officials required to declare assets

2010-07-14
Associated Press

Some 100,000 government officials in Cambodia will be required to declare their assets this year in an effort to combat corruption, a senior official said Wednesday.

Under an anti-corruption law passed in March, any official found guilty of taking bribes could face up to 15 years in prison.

Cambodia, a poor country heavily dependent on foreign aid, is routinely listed by independent groups such as Transparency International as one of the most corrupt countries in Asia.

Om Yentieng, chairman of the government-appointed Anti-Corruption Unit, told reporters that it will require senior officials - including civil servants and police officials - to detail their assets by November.

Lawmakers and leaders of nongovernment organizations will be asked to declare their assets later, he said.

International donors have long pressed Cambodia to combat corruption.

In 2004, a study prepared for the U.S. Agency for International Development said that Cambodia lost an estimated $300 million to $500 million annually to various forms of corruption, although the government contests that graft is on such a large scale.

The anti-corruption law was first proposed 15 years ago but the government, unwilling to tackle the problem, dragged its feet on getting it passed. It remains to be seen if the asset declarations will be effective in monitoring officials. Government salaries are as low as $20 a month.

Lawmakers Select Two Anti-Corruption Representatives

(Photo: AP)

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Tuesday, 08 June 2010

Son Chhay, a lawmaker for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said Tuesday the two legislative candidates do not have experience investigating corruption. “But we will follow up on their work,” he said. “I’m not interested in the history of Prak Sok and Top Sam, but I am more interested in the willingness of the government to fight corruption.”

The National Assembly and Senate established their representatives on a new anti-corruption council on Tuesday, voting respectively for Top Sam and Prak Sok, two members of the Constitutional Council since its 1998 inception.

Now the two men, who must be finally approved by the king, will be a part of the 11-member National Anti-Corruption Council, which prepares strategies and policies to fight graft under a new law passed this year. The council also makes recommendations to its counterpart, the Anti-Corruption Unit, which is in charge of enforcing the policies.

Top Sam, who is 63, was a secretary of state for the Ministry of Commerce until 1998. Prak Sok, who is 67, was a judge and deputy chief of the Supreme Court until he joined the Constitutional Council.

Both men welcomed the news on Tuesday.

“I am very happy to get the new job, and I am committed to doing my best to fulfill my new job strongly and effectively,” Prak Sok told VOA Khmer Tuesday.

But critics say they doubt the men or the new council will effectively combat Cambodia’s corruption, often blamed on government officials within the ruling party.

“We don’t believe in the independence or effectiveness of the representatives of the National Assembly and the Senate in fighting corruption in Cambodia, because the two men come from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, and the two will get pressure from the ruling party before deciding any case,” Mam Sitha, director of the Anti-Corruption Committee, a non-governmental organization, said Tuesday. “The council can decide on small corruption and not powerful corruption, and they cannot decide on the main power behind the corruption.”

Son Chhay, a lawmaker for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said Tuesday the two legislative candidates do not have experience investigating corruption. “But we will follow up on their work,” he said. “I’m not interested in the history of Prak Sok and Top Sam, but I am more interested in the willingness of the government to fight corruption.”

Pen Thol, a member of the Constitutional Council who worked with the candidates for the past six years, said both had good relationships with the seven other members of the Constitutional Council in working groups. They were both effective decision-makers and worked hard on decisions by the council, which examines election complaints as well as constitutional matters, Pen Thol said.

Controversial pick for anticorruption chief

Friday, 21 May 2010
Sebastian Strangio and Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

GOVERNMENT critics have slammed Prime Minister Hun Sen’s appointment of Om Yentieng as head of the country’s new Anticorruption Unit (ACU), saying the choice does not bode well for efforts to eradicate graft.

Om Yentieng, a senior adviser to the prime minister and chairman of the government-run Cambodian Human Rights Committee, confirmed Thursday that Hun Sen appointed him to the post last week and pledged to carry out his duties in accordance with the law.

“We will focus toward cooperation in the process of investigation and the law,” he said.

The ACU – one of two bodies established by the new Law on Anticorruption, passed by the National Assembly in March – will be responsible for directing investigations into public and private-sector corruption. The body is set to begin its work once the law comes into effect in November.

But opposition officials said Om Yentieng’s track record raises concerns about his suitability for the position.

Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann said that during Om Yentieng’s tenure as head of the Council of Ministers’ National Anticorruption Committee, the government’s pre-existing anti-graft body, corruption only worsened.

“Based on past experience, I don’t think that he can curb corruption,” he said.

“How can he work independently? He will be under the influence of the prime minister or the Council of Ministers.”

In February 2009, the London-based watchdog Global Witness reported that Om Yentieng was one of several high-ranking officials “quietly awarded” exploratory mining licences in a “non-transparent and highly dubious” manner.

The report accused Om Yentieng of involvement in the Float Asia Friendly Mation Company, which Global Witness alleged has extracted marble from areas in Pursat province that are protected under Cambodian law.

George Boden, a Global Witness campaigner, said Thursday that the group had “serious concerns” about the effectiveness of the new Anticorruption Law.

One “major area of concern”, he added, is the ability of the prime minister to appoint an effective anticorruption staff.

“This severely undermines the independence of the anti-corruption authorities in Cambodia, including the Anticorruption Unit,” he said by email.
When contacted Thursday, Om Yentieng rejected claims that he is unfit for the post.

“We are not surprised about the criticisms from opposition groups such as the SRP and Global Witness. For us there is nothing strange and they have never helped us – they only mock us,” he said.

Sar Sambath, a permanent member of the ACU, said he supported the appointment.

“I think he has enough ability to fulfill his duty and has done a good job so far in his work to fight against corruption. He is cooperative in bilateral discussions, regional discussions and global discussions that are finding ways to fight corruption,” he said.

But Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, said Om Yentieng’s appointment was discouraging.

“This appointment was an opportunity to send a signal of something new,” he said.

“This was an opportunity for them to make a statement, and I think they’ve missed the opportunity.”

Chairman of the anti-corruption unit for the Council of Ministers nominated to chairman of the national anti-corruption department

20 May 2010
Free Press Magazine Online
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Even though there is nothing major to show for a long time about the anti-corruption work under the leadership of Ong Yentieng at the Council of Ministers, he was still nominated as chairman of the national anti-corruption department.

Ong Yentieng, a close confident of Hun Xen, told reporters on Wednesday that Hun Xen and King Sihamoni decided to nominate him two weeks ago to lead the national anti-corruption department.

Under the newly adopted anti-corruption law, it is stipulated that the national anti-corruption department will be responsible for all corruption investigations in Cambodia.

Nevertheless, this nomination came under criticisms from civil society and opposition officials who indicated that it will not bring any change to the current corrupt situation that plagues Cambodia.

Yim Sovann, SRP spokesman and MP, said that corruption went unabated under Ong Yentieng leadership at the anti-corruption unit at the Council of Ministers, in fact corruption even grew larger.

Fat Cat to Lead Kingdom's Anti-Corruption Authority: Commentary by Kok Sap

Ong Yentieng (Photo: Sovannara, RFI)

Thursday, May 20, 2010
Commentary by Kok Sap
Originally posted at http://khamerlogue.wordpress.com

According to Everyday.com web news today, Cambodia King Norodom Sihamoni has officially selected Em nhu Om Yiek Tien, formerly head of Cambodia Human Rights Commission and Hun Sen's cousin, to lead Kingdom's brand new Anti Corruption Authority placing under close supervision of the Council of Ministries boss, Anh hai Xok Anh. So as they say Hun Sen's Family tree is growing bigger and stronger daily to take helm at the juicy promotion in lucrative premise.

The Global Witness reports showed both Em nhu Om Yiek Tien and Anh hai Xok Anh are the most corruptive and untouchable officials alive in the Hanuman Kingdom II. Both have lots to do with all foreign deals and land grabbing and forest razing. It's the stunning TKO to the annual donors' nuisances. It's a jaw dropping news for the lesser than one dollar a day earners and migratory beggars. It's been a long time for the donors to wait to see this to happen.

Strategically Cambodia could not have a better person to lead its new anti corruption authority, it's sad news for the educated generations.

This newly selected official Em nhu Om Yiek Tien who is kin to the magnanimous (nak leng) PM Hun Sen is a new testament to the Cambodia's old rendition `We are a happy family and Cambodia is ours'.

Well I could not say it's whether the King jokes to have appointed Om Yiek Tien the most corruptive person to investigate and eliminate Cambodia systematic corruption. For the person who hadn't done any better for the Cambodia human rights protection and enforcement moving up to fight corruption which is the place where the palm can grab a lot of grease instantaneously.

For the sake of Cambodia transparency and good governance Om Yiek Tien selection is a fatal blow to the common man morality and donors' criticism. I wonder for how long for Cambodians to endure the insult from the Hanoii bred-monkey government.

Is this Hun Sen Schemes to fool the donors?
Perhaps.

Nonetheless I have to say not a shabby accomplishment at all for the rubber stamp National Assembly to show the donors how not serious Cambodia is to eliminate corruption in days to come.

Nothing much to say or praise but be wary Cambodia and brace yourself, here comes Em nhu Om Yiek Tien the Cambodia notorious corruptor to fight corruption from his own caveats. It's ridiculous for Cambodia sovereign to entrust the fat cat in safeguarding the grease pot.

Khamerlogue 20/5/2010

"Chbabb Pouk Roluoy" a Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea