Bar council to receive results of Kong Sam Onn probe this week

Government lawyer Ky Tech in a file photograph. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)

Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Written by Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

Mu Sochua’s lawyer vows to appeal if council finds him guilty of violations

A MEMBER of the Cambodian Bar Association panel investigating a complaint against the lawyer for Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua said Tuesday that he expected a recommendation to be forwarded to the bar's disciplinary council this week.

The 19-member council will then decide whether Kong Sam Onn violated bar rules, for which he could be suspended or disbarred.

Hem Socheat, the panelist, said he did not know how long it would take for the council to reach a decision.

Ky Tech, the lawyer for Prime Minister Hun Sen who brought the complaint against Kong Sam Onn, appeared briefly before the panel Tuesday. He said the panel asked him only whether he had anything to add to his complaint.

"I answered that my stance has not changed," Ky Tech told the Post Tuesday.

The complaint relates to defamation suits - one filed by Mu Sochua, and a countersuit filed by Hun Sen - stemming from an April 4 speech in which Mu Sochua said the prime minister made derogatory comments about her.

Ky Tech alleged in his complaint that Kong Sam Onn violated Bar Association rules by asserting during a press conference held April 23 - three days before Mu Sochua's suit was filed - that Hun Sen defamed her.

Kong Sam Onn said he believed the council was not independent, adding that he would appeal a decision that was not in his favour. Bar Secretary General Suon Visal acknowledged Sunday that two council members - whom he declined to name - held positions in the government, but said this would not affect the final decision.

Mu Sochua grilled in court

Mu Sochua speaks to reporters outside of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)

Thursday, 04 June 2009
Written by Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

SRP lawmaker questioned for four hours by court prosecutor in Hun Sen's defamation suit.

OPPOSITION Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua answered questions Wednesday in Phnom Penh Municipal Court regarding a defamation lawsuit filed against her by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The lawsuit stems from a complaint lodged by Mu Sochua over an April 4 speech given by the prime minister in which, she claims, he made derogatory comments about her. Mu Sochua's own complaint prompted a countersuit from Hun Sen, who denied that the comments in question referred to her.

Emerging from the court after four hours of questioning, the Kampot lawmaker told reporters that Deputy Prosecutor Sok Roeun had focused on the question of why she had organised a press conference announcing her intention to sue Hun Sen before actually filing her complaint.

She said she told the deputy prosecutor that she did so because she wanted to outline her case clearly to the media, adding that holding press conferences is not illegal.

"As I am a victim, I turned to Cambodian law to defend myself," she told reporters.

In the April speech in Kampot, Hun Sen referred to an unnamed lawmaker as a cheung klang, or "strong leg", a term viewed by some as particularly offensive to women. Mu Sochua has said repeatedly that the speech clearly referred to her, noting that Hun Sen described the same lawmaker as a "strong female MP from the opposition party in Kampot" who lost a button on her shirt while running around embracing people.

During last year's election campaign, Mu Sochua was involved in an altercation in which she said an army general tore a buttom from her blouse and exposed her bra.

"Although Samdech Hun Sen did not refer to me by name, people who were at the speech on April 4 told me by phone to listen to it because he had clearly referred to me," she said.

Ky Tech, the prime minister's lawyer, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Deputy Prosecutor Sok Roeun declined to comment Wednesday afternoon, saying that he was busy with teaching obligations.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan declined to comment beyond saying that he was not interested in Mu Sochua's comments and that "all people must be under the law".

The Cambodian Centre for Human Rights said in a statement Monday that the case was demonstrative of "an inclination to shut down the rights and freedoms" of the opposition party.

Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, expressed concern that no action seemed to have been taken with regard to Mu Sochua's original complaint, adding that the court must be willing to summon Hun Sen as well.

"Prime minister hun sen has always said he is brave, so he should agree to appear in court."

"The court must summon them together," Sok Sam Oeun said.

Mu Sochua urged Hun Sen to appear before the court if summoned, saying that SRP President Sam Rainsy had always appeared when called in for questioning.

"Prime Minister Hun Sen has always said he is brave, so he should agree to appear in court," she said. "I still hope that the court will give us justice."

Legal misconduct claims
The case has also resulted in a complaint filed by Ky Tech against Kong Sam Onn, Mu Sochua's lawyer, on charges of violating professional codes of ethics by speaking publicly about the Mu Sochua case.

Kong Sam Onn appeared before a Bar Association inspection team Monday, but the meeting was suspended after he requested that the bar replace one of the inspection panel members - lawyer Hem Voun - who works at the law firm of Ky Tech. The meeting with the inspection team has now been suspended twice and has not been rescheduled.

Bar Association President Chiv Songkak said after the second cancellation that he supported Kong Sam Onn's request, but that he could not say who would replace Hem Voun on the inspection team.

Hem Voun also said he understood the request and "did not oppose" it.

"If Kong Sam Onn is punished, my stance must be to defend him on behalf of other lawyers": Bar inspector Hem Socheat

No show by Bar panel members stalls probe into opposition lawyer

Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Written by Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

Inspector says he wants no part in review of SRP lawyer Kong Sam Onn, who is fighting charges he breached Bar ethics in lawsuit against PM.

SAM Rainsy Party lawyer Kong Sam Onn appeared before an inspection team at the Cambodian Bar Association for the first time Monday as part of an investigation into accusations that he breached the Bar's professional code of ethics.

Kong Sam Onn, who is representing opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua in her defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Hun Sen, was himself accused of defamation by Hun Sen's lawyers following comments he made at a press conference on April 23.

"IF KONG SAM ONN IS PUNISHED, MY STANCE MUST BE TO DEFEND HIM..."

But the hearing at the Bar Association's Phnom Penh office was postponed when two of the five-member inspection team failed to show up, with one absent lawyer saying he did not want to participate in the investigation.

Lawyer Hem Socheat, a member of the inspection team who was absent, told the Post that Kong Sam Onn had done nothing wrong, and that he did not want to sit on the review panel.

"I tried to escape getting involved with the investigation into his case two or three times but they still tried to call me," he said.

"If Kong Sam Onn is punished, my stance must be to defend him on behalf of other lawyers."

During the aborted meeting, at which he was to answer questions relating to the case, Kong Sam Onn said he hoped the Bar would judge him fairly and that Hun Sen's involvement would have no impact on the case.

"I think that the Bar will decide my case legally if there's no pressure from politicians. I didn't do anything illegal, and the Bar will rule properly if there is no pressure," he said.

Once the inspection team finishes its work, it will send its report to the 19-member Bar Council to make a final ruling on the case. If found guilty of misconduct, Kong Sam Onn faces dismissal from the Bar.

Battle in the courts

Mu Sochua is suing Hun Sen for comments he made during a speech in Kampot province on April 4.

The opposition party leader says Hun Sen referred to her as cheung klang - a term meaning "strong legs" in Khmer, but which she says is derogatory when used to describe women.

In response, Hun Sen is countersuing for defamation, saying his remarks did not refer to Mu Sochua.

The SRP lawmaker and her lawyer have since received support from abroad in their clash with Hun Sen.

In a letter to Bar President Chiv Song Hak dated Thursday, Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada, a Vancouver-based NGO, said: "We wish to offer our moral support to the Bar Association ... in fulfilling its function to uphold and defend the independence of the legal profession."

"We sincerely and respectfully hope that the [Bar Association] and its Disciplinary Council will not be used inappropriately."

Bar spokesman Ly Tay Seng could not be reached for comment Monday.