Prosecutor Defends His Records in Corruption Charges

Last year Pursat provincial court sentenced Top Chan Sereivuth to 19 years in jail on charges of corruption, extortion, and false imprisonment.

Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

"I merely request the court give me justice and fully consider testimonies by both the witnesses and victims.”

Former court prosecutor Top Chan Sereyvuth on Wednesday maintained his innocence in a high-profile corruption case during an appeal court hearing.

Last year, the Pursat provincial court sentenced Top Chan Sereyvuth to 19 years in jail on charges of corruption, extortion, and false imprisonment. But he denied the charges and appealed the verdict.

During Wednesday’s hearing, reporters were not allowed to take notes but the court allowed a photographer from the anti-corruption unit to photograph and document the hearing.

Khmer Intelligence News - 20 August 2009

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS

20 August 2009

Hor Nam Hong’s defamation lawsuit at French Appeal Court on 8 October (1)

The defamation lawsuit that Hor Nam Hong has filed before the French tribunal against Sam Rainsy and his publisher Calmann-Lévy will reach the Paris Appeal Court on 8 October 2009.

There are new developments that French judges in Paris would want to examine. Those developments are related to the works done since the beginning of the year by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh. Prosecutors, judges and lawyers at the ECCC who are currently dealing with the case of Kaing Guek Eav alias Duch, the director of the Tuol Sleng center (S-21), have gained a better understanding of the prison system and the death chain under the Pol Pot regime from 1975 to 1979. Under that regime, there was no police and no tribunal, but only torturers and executioners who wanted to please political leaders who were paranoid. In such a system, anyone could be arrested after being denounced by anyone else, then sent to S-21 to be tortured until he/she “confessed” his/her “crimes” before being finally and inevitably executed. Those who denounced other people could be detainees who, under duress, came out with names of innocent people they were forced to implicate in imaginary crimes. Denunciations could also come from Khmer Rouge elements or from ordinary people working under the Khmer Rouge at all levels and in all spheres of activities. Those denunciations, with terrible consequences, were often motivated by the fear of being suspected and killed by the Khmer Rouge if one did not take initiative to denounce at least a few acquaintances. But denunciations could also be motivated by the zeal manifested by some people who wanted to be appreciated by their Khmer Rouge bosses. Many former prisoners at the Boeng Trabek reeducation camp (B-32) described Hor Nam Hong as a zealous president who denounced a number of prisoners, who eventually and tragically ended up at S-21. Testimonies can be read at http://tinyurl.com/56czqh

Cambodia’s corrupt justice system: a repellent for legitimate foreign investors (1)

The Cambodian justice system is known to be corruption-ridden, which frightens much needed legitimate foreign investors. Judges usually make their decisions based on bribes they receive. A recent example of this money-based justice is embodied by a judge named Kim Eng at the Sihanoukville provincial court. After he had received a hefty kickback from a CPP parliamentarian named Long Sakhorn (see KI News, 28 July 2009: “CPP parliamentarian involved in criminal acts”), Judge Kim Eng made on 27 November 2008 a decision that should lead to a severe punishment by the Supreme Council of Magistracy. He committed four blatant offences by grossly twisting a provision of the 2001 Land Law in favour of Long Sakhorn, by ignoring rules and regulations legally implemented by the Land Titling Office, by issuing inconsistent instructions to government and court officials, and by endorsing a document forged by Long Sakhorn to avoid paying taxes to the state.

Evidence related to the case is presented at http://tinyurl.com/llokd2

Sokimex and Tela make huge profits following gasoline price hikes (2)

Gasoline price in Cambodia has sharply increased since the beginning of the year. The increase is not fully justified by the evolution of crude oil price on the international markets. See comparative charts at http://tinyurl.com/m59t5t

Cambodian gasoline distribution companies immediately increase their selling prices following any increase in crude oil price on the international markets, but when crude oil price declines they only partially, and with a time lag, pass on the decline to consumers.

Gasoline price has now reached 4200 riels (US$1) per liter, significantly higher than in neighboring Viet Nam and Thailand where taxes are lower than in Cambodia.

In the USA, gasoline price is currently around $3 per gallon or $0.77 per liter, meaning 23 percent cheaper than in Cambodia. The minimum wage in the USA is at least 20 times as much as in Cambodia (around $50 per month).

The reason why the Cambodian government keeps relatively high taxes on imported petroleum products is related to corruption. Less than half the volume of petroleum products used annually in the country is legally imported, the rest is smuggled in by powerful people associated with Sokimex and Tela. These two Cambodian-owned companies are making huge profits while they still afford to sell their products about 5 percent cheaper than their foreign-owned competitors Caltex (Chevron) and Total. The latter have to pay the full amount of import taxes collected by the state while Sokimex and Tela collect for themselves fraudulent private taxes included in their selling prices.

“Tack Fat” is dead, long live “Tack Foc” (2)

We have already exposed the bankruptcy of Tack Fat, which used to be Cambodia’s number one garment producer (see KI News, 13 October 2008: “Garment manufacturer Tack Fat has gone bankrupt”). We have also revealed that the company's main leaders had fled Hong Kong to escape prosecution (KI News, 16 December 2008: “Top managers of Hong Kong-based Tack Fat company are in hiding in Cambodia”). Shareholders in Hong Kong have been swindled and the unscrupulous managers have fled to Cambodia with the company's cash. The fugitive businessmen have renamed their company “Tack Foc” and they have secured from the Cambodian government a 100,000-hectare land concession to make their company’s balance sheet look better (window dressing operation). Tack Fat used to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Tack Foc hopes to be listed on the to-be-launched Phnom Penh Stock Exchange.
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ARCHIVES

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS - 13 October 2008

Garment manufacturer Tack Fat has gone bankrupt (1)

The Hong Kong-based daily newspaper South China Morning Post, October 8, 2008, confirmed that Tack Fat Group International, a well-known firm listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the parent company of Tack Fat Garment (Cambodia) Ltd, a major garment manufacturer in this country, has gone bankrupt. The news reads as follows, "Last month [September 2008], banks applied to wind up (…) swimwear maker Tack Fat International Group after [it] defaulted on loans." Tack Fat becomes the second "collapse of a Hong Kong-listed retailer amid the financial meltdown."

According to a business analysis, "Tack Fat Group's principal activities are designing and manufacturing of jeans, pants, shorts, swimming apparel and sportswear for men, women and children. Other activity includes investment holding. The Group has three production facilities, one of which is located in Luoding City, Guandong Province, the People's Republic of China and the other two of which are located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The majority of the Group's products are exported to the North American, European markets and other regions." http://tinyurl.com/3mpvvl

A September 16, 2008 statement by the Group's "Provisional Liquidators Appointed" specifies, "The place of incorporation of the Company is in Cayman Islands and the shares [were] suspended for trading since 9:30am, 30 July 2008." http://tinyurl.com/3lgb8a

Information about Tack Fat Garment (Cambodia) Ltd can be obtained at http://tinyurl.com/437q8l

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS – 16 December 2008

Top managers of Hong Kong-based Tack Fat company are in hiding in Cambodia (2)

In addition to "Garment manufacturer Tack Fat has gone bankrupt" as published by Khmer Intelligence News on 13 October 2008, we have learned that the company's top managers are now in hiding in Cambodia to escape prosecution in Hong Kong. Shareholders have been swindled and the unscrupulous managers have fled to Cambodia with the company's cash. Criminals who can pay bribes, or are financial cronies, to Cambodia's political leaders enjoy impunity in this country. The wife of a powerful man here holds a significant stake in Tack Fat's Cambodian subsidiary, which used to provide the mother company in Hong Kong with fake certificates of origin, with the complicity of the Ministry of Commerce, allowing fraudulent garment exports from China to the USA using the label "Made in Cambodia."

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Cambodia needs anti-corruption culture

May 27, 2009
By Chak Sopheap
Guest Commentary
UPI Asia Online

Niigata, Japan — Corruption exists in all countries, but has the most destructive effect in developing economies. In a poor country like Cambodia, rated as a highly corrupt state, it threatens democratic institutions and fundamental rights and freedoms. It undermines socioeconomic development and deepens poverty. It also provokes irrational decision making, disrupts the development of the private sector and undermines sustainable development of the environment.

It is even worse when a vital branch of the government, the judiciary, and its affiliate academic institution, the Royal Academy for Judicial Professions, is corrupt.

Ongoing corruption allegations against the Khmer Rouge Tribunal are still blurred, yet there is no adequate mechanism to respond to this situation. Claims that corruption should be a separate issue if the tribunal is to proceed make no sense, as one of the core expectations of the tribunal is to strengthen the rule of law.

Another recent allegation has claimed that corruption affects the securing of admission to the Royal Academy for Judicial Professions. The two cases are crucial and related, because if young professionals in the judiciary resort to bribes, then it is bound to affect the court system as a whole. The protracted corrupt behavior seen at the very basic judicial level leaves little hope for improvements in the country’s court system.

However, the corruption case involving the academy was resolved in court and a senior student who took the bribe returned the money to the student who was promised a seat in Class Five of the academy. The court case proved that corruption exists in the system. It should be noted that the senior student was not solely responsible in this case, but the student who paid the bribe also abused the law and can be said to be involved in the corruption.

Corruption must be clearly defined and interpreted so that it can encourage people in reporting potential cases. The involvement of the court in settling the case related to the academy is a good example of a corruption suit being lawfully settled, but impunity still persists within the system. Cambodia does not have adequate anti-corruption laws, which clearly state the terms of punishment.

The concerned institutions and stakeholders should not ignore corruption allegations and must carry out sufficient investigations. It is not surprising that most of the concerned and responsible stakeholders harshly deny accusations instead of exploring the evidence and cooperating with other agencies, like the media.

The recent denial of corruption by a leading government lawyer to the well-known Voice of America, which was reporting on an alleged corruption case, is one of the worse scenarios where the press is silenced and government claims of fighting corruption are undermined.

In Cambodia corruption continues partly because the people see it as something “normal” that most are unable to change. Besides, there is a lack of political commitment to encourage people to speak out against it and hold authorities accountable.

Although Prime Minister Hun Sen has declared "war" on corruption and an anti-corruption law has been proposed, with recent promises that it will be adopted soon, questions still linger on how soon and effective it would be.

The government thus needs to show its real commitment to an anti-corruption campaign and encourage a culture of mutual collaboration with the civil society instead of immediate denial and manipulation of charges. Also, people’s attitude toward corruption needs to be changed so that it will no longer be tolerated.
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(Chak Sopheap is a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan. She runs a blog, www.sopheapfocus.com, in which she shares her impressions of both Japan and her homeland, Cambodia. She was previously advocacy officer of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.)

CPP-controlled court sides with the powerful land thief

Provincial Court Rejects Land-Theft Complaint

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
13 May 2009

Sixty-one families from Kampong Chhnang province denounced the denial of a land-grab complaint by the provincial court on Wednesday, saying a clerk of court refused to receive it.

The families say they tried to file a suit against a private company, KDC International, for the theft of 80 hectares of rice fields and homes.

The families say they have filed suit multiple times since 2006, but the court has failed to take action.

Nhim Nhoeun, a representative of Lor Peang village, in Kampong Tralach district, said court clerk Heng Saman rejected the complaint.

Heng Saman declined comment, and KDC representatives could not be reached for comment. KDC has accused villagers in the past of stealing its land.

In January 2008, KDC bulldozed villagers’ houses on one plot of land, and more than one month later Kampong Chhnang provincial court sentenced two representatives of Lor Peang to prison following a suit filed by KDC.

One of the two villagers was sentenced to prison for up to 10 years on several charges stemming from the suit.

Toth Kimsroy, coordinator for the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee in Kampong Chhnang, who helped prepare the villagers’ suit, said he planned to help villagers forward a complaint to the Ministry of Justice early next week.

PM chides private sector over land

Thursday, 24 April 2008
By Craig Guthrie The Mekong Times

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday warned the country’s buoyant private sector to tread carefully when investing in land – whether privately or state owned.

Speaking at the packed 13th Government-Private Sector Forum, Hun Sen said listening to local radio gave him “headaches” when it reported on land disputes involving private firms, demanding the government’s investment body review controversial investments.

“Companies; please have pity on the people. You cannot force people to sell their land and we cannot let companies abuse their land,” said the premier. “The CDC [Council for the Development of Cambodia] must monitor these companies and revoke their licenses if they encroach on land owned by the people. I will give incentives only to the private sector for investments which benefit the people.”

Hun Sen is Chairman of the CDC.

The prime minister warned he would attend court cases himself with disgruntled villagers in tow should courts erroneously rule in favor of private firms in land
disputes.

State land must also be respected, Hun Sen cautioned. He cited a recent US$400,000 bill the state received from a Thai firm for a collapsed electricity pole – raised as part of a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) project to import Thai electricity – as an example. Such actions were “incomprehensible,” he said.

“I do not understand this. One of the poles collapsed and this company complained to the court in Banteay Meanchey that the state should pay US$400,000. This is public land but they won. The private sector put in the posts, but they complain to the court that the state must pay,” he said.

“[The company] comes to our house, destroys it and then punishes us,” complained Hun Sen.

The premier asked Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathna to explain why the nation’s courts were deciding in favor of the private sector. “I do not put pressure on the court, but it is now abusing the rights of the Royal Government,” he added.

Ang Vong Vathna said by phone that Hun Sen was not attacking the courts as a whole. “He was defending the people against the companies, and asking that the courts look at these cases two or three times before making any decision.”

“I understand the premier’s sense of dissatisfaction with the court order,” said ADB Country Director Arjun Goswami. He added that a review would have to be carried out among the various government agencies to determine if the electricity poles Hun Sen mentioned are indeed on state land.

Local human rights group Lichado recorded 98 new cases of land encroachment affecting more than 5,242 families in 2007. The group claimed many cases involve “powerful individuals and companies … often acting with the complicity of government and state officials.”