Cambodia's drug detention hell

A Cambodian boy inhales spirit from glue in a plastic bag in the streets of Phnom Penh city. Photograph: AFP PHOTO /Chhoy Pisei

Thursday, 26 July 2012
David Boyle and Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post

A child in a Cambodian drug rehabilitation centre was forced to perform oral sex on a military police commander while women in the same institutions have been raped for days on end, a damning new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) has found.

The study titled Torture in the Name of Treatment: Human Rights Abuses in Vietnam, China, Cambodia, and Lao PDR, also found Cambodian inmates were forced to build houses for guards and were often detained despite no clear evidence they were addicted to drugs.

Treatments shown to work based on evidence are absent from the centres in Cambodia and Vietnam, yet despite this and the systematic abuse uncovered, donors and UN agencies working with relevant government authorities did little to intervene, the report states.

Cambodian children told Human Rights Watch of how they were beaten, shocked with electric batons and subjected to sexual abuse by staff.

“Some massages I had to give were sexual ... if I did not do this, he would beat me. The commander asked me to ‘eat ice cream’ [perform oral sex]. I refused, and he slapped me ... Performing oral sex happened many times ... how could I refuse?” it quoted an anonymous child as saying.

Licensed abuses, rapes and murders of Cambodian maids in Malaysia

More Cambodian maid abuse revelations

Thursday, 05 July 2012
David Boyle and Phak Seangly
The Phnom Penh Post

A Cambodian maid in Malaysia has committed suicide, another was allegedly raped by her employer and a third tortured, according to rights groups and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is investigating the cases.

An 18-year-girl is being sheltered at the Cambodian embassy after she was rescued from an employer who allegedly raped her in April and was arrested on Monday, Moeun Tola, head of the labour program and the Community Legal Education Centre said yesterday.

“She was only 16 when she was sent to Malaysia,” he said, adding that she had been sent by the recruitment firm T&P, which has since been shut down following a raft of exploitation and abuse scandals and was “famous for falsifying documents”.

Malaysian man jailed for alleged maid rape

Maids in Malaysia

Tuesday, 03 July 2012
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
The Phnom Penh Post

Malaysian authorities arrested a man on Sunday after the family of his 18-year-old Cambodian maid reported him to local and Cambodian NGOs for allegedly raping her, the Community Legal Education Center said yesterday.

Moeun Tola, program manager at CLEC, told the Post he had received a complaint on Friday from the girl’s parents asking the NGO to intervene on their daughter’s behalf.

“She called her parents after she was raped by the husband of her landlady [and employer], and her parents called us to help her,” Tola said. “Then we contacted our NGO partner in Malaysia [rights group Tenaganita] to intervene.”

The 18-year-old victim told the Post yesterday her Malaysian employer’s husband, Liew Fos Ching, had attempted to rape her once before, but gave up when her struggles attracted the attention of another family member.

She wasn’t so lucky the second time.

Lawmaker raises concerns

SRP MP Mu Sochua (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Srey Sophal retracting her allegation (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Monday, 18 April 2011
Mary Kozlovski
The Phnom Penh Post

The mother retracted her allegation ... at a press conference organised by the recruitment agency [Champa Manpower Group] To my mind, one word says it all: pressure

An opposition lawmaker has raised concerns that the mother of a maid working in Malaysia, who claimed that her daughter was raped twice by a member of her employer’s family, was under pressure when she retracted the allegations this month.

Srey Sophal, 66, of Svay Rieng province, claimed at a press conference organised by Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua on April 4 that her daughter had been raped, before withdrawing the allegations at the Ministry of Interior on April 6. In a statement released on her website on Friday, Mu Sochua said that the case should not end with the victim’s retraction.

“The mother retracted her allegation…at a press conference organised by the recruitment agency [Champa Manpower Group Ltd], at the Ministry of Interior, with a thumb printed letter by her daughter, officiated by the Embassy of Cambodia in Malaysia,” said Mu Sochua in the statement.

“To my mind, one word says it all: pressure.”

Mother of Alleged Rape Victim Retracts Her Story

Srey Sophal, the mother of the alleged Cambodia rape victim, talked to the press about her daughter's rape by her employer in Malaysia (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

April 14, 2011
By SRP MP Mu Sochua

The alleged victim interview with Candle Light Radio on 4April clearly indicates that she was desperate for help. She describes the assault and makes this appeal:

"...on 30 March, the father of my employer came to the house when everyone has gone out for work. He raped me. I appeal to all Cambodian women who want to come to Malaysia to think carefully and not make the mistake I made. I thought I was coming for a good job but in Malaysia I am a victim of sexual abuse. I want the government to help me return home as soon as possible".

Click below to listen to the Candle Light Radio program

The mother of a 27 year-old woman who was recruited by the Champa employment agency and send to Malaysia to work as a maid, retracted everything she told repoters at my office on Monday 4 April.

What really happened?

To my mind, one word says it all: pressure.

Facts that make me believe so:

 

The mother retracted her allegation of rape of her daughter: 1/ at a press conference organized by the recrutiment agency; 2/ at the Ministry of Interior; 3/ with a thumb printed letter by her daughter , officiated by the Embassy of Cambodia , in Malysia; 4/ the employer is paying US$ 2,000 for her return to Cambodia.

These are steps that any government with true will to protect its citizens sent abroad for employment would do in the case of such allegation. 

1. The Cambodian government should do is to collaborate with the Malaysian police by getting the mother of the alleged victim to Malaysia to provide her daughter support;
2. Cambodian officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cambodian Embassy in Malaysia and the Malaysian police with NGOs can form a team to conduct a thorough investigation of the alleged rape;
3. Her safe return to Cambodia should be arranged by the Cambodian authorities and not paid by the employer;
4. If she needs to go back to Malaysia to appear in court, the Cambodian authorities should make all arrangements and ensure that proper translation and other support services are provided to her and to her family; 
5. In Cambodia, the government should investigate the Champa employment agency. This is not the first time, Champa agency is suspected of wrong doings.

Once these steps are conducted, then the facts should be contained in an official report made available to the public. The investigation of Champa Manpower and its allied agency in Malaysia should be investigated.

 As an elected member of parliament, I intend to ask for the report of investigation and the facts, even if I know no investigation has been conducted. 

   

I have reached out to the Malaysian Embassy in Cambodia and to a network of Malaysian NGOs dealing with migrant workers in the region, to investigate the case. It can not end with the retraction of the victim.

I will continue to pursue this case and other cases as I believe that we are on the right track to crack down a million dollar business that uses our women, men and children as objects.

I call on all who believe in defending women's rights and the prosecution of human traffickers and those who want to see safe working conditions for women to send their concerns to the Malaysian government to investigate the case and to provide protection to the alleged victim.

The silencing of women migrant workers is against the law, it is inhumane and it further supports a human trade that should be condemned. Such treatment of alleged victims of violence and exploitation by those in power to cover up the real truth is very common, even in countries ruled by law. State conspiracy to cover facts or to fail to conduct proper investigation of complaints from alleged victims of violence against women is a very serious matter. There exists UN mechanisms to file complaints related to violence against women and these mechanisms should be used to ensure proper measures by such states to protect women's human rights and to provide justice to women.

Cambodia has signed the CEDAW Optional Protocol, an instrument that can be used by victims.

Sochua

3 generations of women murdered in new multiple killing in Cambodia

Jan 10, 2011
DPA

Phnom Penh - Three Cambodian women from the same family were killed in their home in the country's second multiple murder in as many days, local media reported Tuesday.

Police said the three victims - 70-year-old Eng Ly, her daughter and her 20-year-old granddaughter - were killed early Monday in Siem Reap province in the country's north-west.

The attackers slit their throats after raping the youngest woman, The Phnom Penh Post newspaper reported.

The police chief of Siem Reap town said robbery was likely behind the killings.

Governor backs NGO on abuse allegations

Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

Click here to read on what the villagers and Adhoc have to say about DARPO/ADSP which is headed by a powerful CPP 2-star general-businessman.

THE governor of Preah Vihear province yesterday moved to quash allegations that a local NGO was guilty of ongoing human rights violations in the province.

Last week, local rights group Adhoc deployed human rights monitors to Preah Vihear to investigate complaints filed by 57 villagers, who say that employees of an NGO identified as the Drugs and AIDS Research and Prevention Organisation had committed acts of rape, land-grabbing, violence and intimidation.

Chan Saveth, a senior monitor for Adhoc, said the government had granted DARPO a 556-hectare social land concession in Choam Khsan district in 2007, in a move intended to aid poor families in the area.

Chan Saveth said yesterday that he could not disclose information about the investigation because it was ongoing, but that Adhoc would “continue to consult with local authorities” on the issue.

But Provincial governor Sar Thavy yesterday denied that such violations would occur in Preah Vihear.

“There is nothing like that here, and we, the local authorities, would not allow such serious human rights violations to happen in this modern age,” he said.

“We are waiting to see the faces of the victims and waiting for their official complaints before proceeding with our work and investigation.”

Interior Ministry Spokesman Khieu Sopheak urged any victims to file complaints in order to ensure that they are properly investigated by the authorities.

Rape on the rise in Cambodia: Amnesty

Meas Veasna. (Joel Elliott/GlobalPost)

Victims of rape suffer from stigma while perpetrators are rarely, if ever, held accountable.

April 16, 2010
By Joel Elliott — Special to GlobalPost

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – For Meas Veasna, as with many survivors of sexual violence, rape brought only the beginning of the horror.

Veasna, a 20-year-old married mother of two, was allegedly raped by a monk in her home province of Prey Veng in June 2009. Her life since that time has fallen apart; because of the stigma Cambodian culture attaches to being raped, her husband’s family will not allow her to see him or her children. She has been forced to move to Phnom Penh on her own to find work. Meanwhile, the monk remains free, never having been tried in court because he refuses to appear.

All across Cambodia, this sort of impunity enables rapists and victimizes women over and over, according to a recent report from Amnesty International that found that incidents of sexual violence — especially the rape of children — have increased in recent years. Police documented 468 cases of rape, attempted rape and sexual harassment between November 2008 and November 2009, a 24-percent increase over the previous year, Amnesty reported. The portion of rapes reported to human rights organization ADHOC that involved children jumped from 67 percent in 2008 to 78 percent in 2009, and many more rapes go unreported, according to Amnesty.

ADHOC, the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, is an NGO that lobbies for better policies for providing health and education services, improving labor and food condition, reducing poverty and preventing land-grabbing.

The incident involving Veasna occurred a few weeks after she had given birth to her second child and went to Wat Kaley pagoda for a ritual involving holy water. While she was there, a monk allegedly drugged and raped her, fleeing only when Veasna’s husband came to her rescue.

Police took her statement, but since then nothing has happened, Veasna said in an interview last week. She wants justice, but is beginning to despair, as the monk refuses to appear in court and investigations have ground to a halt. Amnesty’s report suggests that a guilty verdict might vindicate Veasna and allow her to return to her family, but she has her doubts.

“I want the police to arrest him, but I think it’s useless for me to continue with the case; every time I go to the police, they question me, but then there is just silence,” Veasna said. “I think my husband cannot take me back, because in his eyes I am dirty.”

Her husband continues to be supportive, exerting what little pressure he can to urge police to investigate and the courts to act.

That a rape survivor would emerge from the incident with her reputation in tatters is not unique to Veasna, according to Sina Vann, team leader for Voices for Change, a program of the Somaly Mam Foundation. The Somaly Mam Foundation is an NGO that seeks to combat human trafficking through advocacy, education and by empowering survivors to tell their stories to the world.

Vann herself, now 26, was taken from her home in Vietnam at the age of 12 and sold into sex slavery in Cambodia before being rescued as a teen by AFESIP (Acting for Women in Distressing Situations), another organization co-founded by Somaly Mam. Young girls or women who are raped often turn to sex work because they see no other option given the stigma that accompanies rape, she said.

Ironically, convicted rapists who gave interviews to Amnesty International said they experienced no stigma for their crimes.

“I haven’t heard of anyone looking down on me in the village, and not here in the prison either; there are so many here who have done bad things,” one man named Meng, who was convicted and sentenced to 14 years for the rape of two girls, ages 9 and 10, told Amnesty International.

The report urged the Cambodian government to publicly condemn rape and other sexual violence, and to end the complacency that contributes to the impunity rapists enjoy. The government must change its policies to ensure that police investigate allegations of rape and that the courts hold rapists accountable, the report said. Cambodia, it said, also should address the government’s failures to provide victims with adequate reparations, including health and psychosocial services.

For now, NGOs such as ADHOC are trying to pick up the slack. When she found herself essentially homeless, Veasna went to the organization, which agreed to represent her in court, and helped her find a job in Phnom Penh working with needy children.

But Veasna longs for her old life.

“It’s hard for me now, because I used to have my children. I used to have my husband with me,” she said. “But now, I am all alone, and lonely.”

Southeast Asia: Human Rights Watch Charges Torture, Rape, Illegal Detentions at Cambodian Drug "Rehab" Centers, Demands Shutdown

From Drug War Chronicle, Issue #618
1/29/10

In a scathing 93-page report released today, the international human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Cambodian drug detention centers of torturing and raping detainees, imprisoning children and the mentally ill, and illegally detaining and imprisoning drug users. The centers are beyond reform and should be closed, the group said.

"Individuals in these centers are not being treated or rehabilitated, they are being illegally detained and often tortured," said Joseph Amon, director of the Health and Human Rights division at HRW. "These centers do not need to be revamped or modified; they need to be shut down."

The report cited detailed testimonies from detainees who were raped by center staff, beaten with electric cables, shocked with cattle prods, and forced to give blood. It also found that drug users were "cured" of their conditions by being forced to undergo rigorous military-style drills to sweat the drugs out of their systems.

"[After arrest] the police search my body, they take my money, they also keep my drugs... They say, 'If you don't have money, why don't you go for a walk with me?... [The police] drove me to a guest house.... How can you refuse to give him sex? You must do it. There were two officers. [I had sex with] each one time. After that they let me go home," said Minea, a woman in her mid-20's who uses drugs, explaining how she was raped by two police officers.

"[A staff member] would use the cable to beat people... On each whip the person's skin would come off and stick on the cable," said M'noh, age 16, describing whippings he witnessed in the Social Affairs "Youth Rehabilitation Center" in Choam Chao. The title of the HRW report is "Skin on the Cable."

More than 2,300 people were detained in Cambodia's 11 drug detention centers in 2008. That is 40% more than in 2007.

"The government of Cambodia must stop the torture occurring in these centers," said Amon. "Drug dependency can be addressed through expanded voluntary, community-based, outpatient treatment that respects human rights and is consistent with international standards."

Cambodian officials from the National Authority for Combating Drugs, the Interior Ministry, the National Police, and the Social Welfare Ministry all declined to comment when queried by the Associated Press. But Cambodian Brig. Gen. Roth Srieng, commander of the military police in Banteay Meanchy province, denied torture at his center, while adding that some detainees were forced to stand in the sun or "walk like monkeys" as punishment for trying to escape.

Children as young as 10, prostitutes, beggars, the homeless, and the mentally ill are frequently detained and taken to the drug detention centers, the report found. About one-quarter of those detained were minors. Most were not told why they were being detained. The report also said police sometimes demanded sexual favors or money for release and told some detainees they would not be beaten or could leave early if they donated blood.

The report relied on testimony from 74 people, most of them drug users, who had been detained between February and July 2009.

Daughter Saves Mom From Rape

11/20/2009
ShortNews.com

In Battambang province, Cambodia, a woman was washing her cloths in the river when a man approached her quietly from behind, grabbed her and attempted to rape her.

The woman's daughter was nearby with some of her friends and they came running and fended off the rapist.

Police arrested the would-be rapist and the man claimed that he had attempted to rape the woman because he was drunk and feeling horny.

Source: www.phnompenhpost.com

Three South Korean tour guides arrested for karaoke rape

Oct 22, 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - Three South Korean tour guides have been arrested for allegedly raping a teenage karaoke hostess after she passed out from drinking, national media reported Thursday.

The three men were taken into custody in the tourist town of Siem Reap, home to the famous Angkor Wat temple complex.

The provincial bureau chief of the police's juvenile protection unit, Sun Bunthorng, told the Cambodia Daily newspaper the three men would appear in court Thursday.

The paper reported that the men had booked a private karaoke room at the Dream World Karaoke parlour on Tuesday evening, and invited four karaoke hostesses to join them.

After three hours of drinking, during which time the victim passed out, the men allegedly told the other women to leave and then locked the door.

When the manager of the karaoke parlour gained access with a spare key, he reportedly found one of the men in the act of raping the unconscious 18-year-old.

The police were called and arrested all three men, one on suspicion of rape and the other two on suspicion of attempted rape. The provincial police chief said the woman was receiving medical treatment.

The story made the news on the day that South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was due to arrive in Phnom Penh for a two-day official visit to the kingdom. Lee is to visit Siem Reap on Friday to see the temple of Angkor Wat.

SKorean men arrested for rape in Cambodia: police

PHNOM PENH, Oct 21 (AFP) - Three South Korean men have been arrested after one of them was caught raping an intoxicated Cambodian woman in their private room at a karaoke club, police said Wednesday.

Authorities said the three men -- two restaurant owners and a tourist guide -- were arrested immediately Tuesday night at the club in northwestern Siem Reap province, home to the famed Angkor Wat temples.

Sun Bunthong, chief of Siem Reap's anti-human trafficking police, said the men forced an 18-year-old girl to drink beer until she was intoxicated, and then asked other women to leave the room so that one of the men could rape her.

"After girls who were not drunk were out of the room, they locked the door and one of them started raping her," he said.

The men -- whose identities were not immediately provided -- were arrested after karaoke club staff forced their way through the door and saw one of them raping the woman, Sun Bunthong told AFP by telephone.

The man faces a rape charge while the two other men face charges of being accomplices to the crime, he added.

Father Rapes Daughter Repeatedly to Channel her "Virgin Spirit"

10/06/2009
ShortNews.com

In Takeo province, Cambodia, a 47 year old man told his 21 year old daughter that he needed to have sex with her, or else he would suffer from "nervous convulsions". He claimed having sex with a "virgin spirit" could cure his ailment.

At first the daughter refused, but then when her father had a "nervous convulsion"in front of her, she reluctantly agreed.

After a few month, the girl's mother begged her husband to stop raping their daughter and when the man refused, the mom and daughter went to the police. The accused rapist was arrested by Takeo province police on Monday.

Violence Against Women Intolerable: Official

Keth Mardy, head of the legal affairs department, Ministry of Women's Affairs.

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
02 December 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

A government official on Monday urged women who are victims of a crime to take action against the perpetrator.

"For the Ministry of Women's Affairs, it is clear that any violation against women's rights must not be tolerated," said Keth Mardy, head of the legal affairs department for the ministry, said, as a guest on "Hello VOA."

Domestic violence and other crimes, including rape, continue to plague Cambodia, but Keth Mardy said sometimes women were loathe to complain about their husbands, who are often breadwinners.

Other women, she said, may not know their legal rights.

"It depends on the individual victim, whether to file a complaint or not," Keth Mardy said.

The Ministry of Women's Affairs is currently in the middle of a 16-day campaign against violence against women.

Cambodian student sought in connection with teacher's murder

Mon, 12 Nov 2007
DPA

Phnom Penh - A Cambodian student was being sought in connection with the shooting murder of his teacher on the school grounds and the rape of his victim's girlfriend, police said Monday. Police in Sameky Meanchey district of central Kampong Chhnang province, about 100 kilometres from the capital, said Pel Phirun, 35, was shot dead in the early hours of Saturday morning.

"The shooting happened during a musical performance on the school campus so no one heard the shot and the crime was not reported until later. The girl was abducted and only returned home the next day distraught and with no clothes," district police chief Chim Buntheoun said by telephone.

"The case is still open, but we do have a prime suspect who has fled the area and we are searching for him."

The suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was one of the teacher's students, police said. Friends of the couple had reported he was obsessed with the 17-year-old girlfriend of Phirun, who was also not named, and had been accused of stalking them.

"This girl is very beautiful. She is the prettiest girl in the area. Phirun only moved here a year ago but they fell in love so there was jealousy with some people," Buntheoun said.

Premeditated murder carries a 20-year jail term in Cambodia.

Reported violence against Cambodian women rising: rights group

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Media hype clouds Cleghorn rape appeal

By Lachlan Forsyth and Sam Rith
Phnom Penh Post, Issue 16 / 14, July 13 - 26, 2007

The legal wrangling and jostling for headlines in the Graham Cleghorn case look set to continue, after the Cambodian Court of Appeal upheld his conviction for rape.

At a July 10 announcement following his appeal hearing the presiding judges said they found no reason to dismiss the charges or reduce his sentence.

Cleghorn, 60, a New Zealander, was tried and convicted for the rape of five teenage girls employed at his Siem Reap home in February 2004.

"I have to say that we are all totally devastated at the outcome of the appeal and still firmly believe that Graham has not had a fair and proper hearing in to his case," said Cleghorn's New Zealand lawyer, Greg King, in a July 12 email.

King said Cambodia must ensure that minimum standards of criminal procedure were adhered to, as defined under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

"This especially relates to the refusal of all courts to date to hear from the defense witnesses that Graham wanted heard at his original trial in 2004. The fact that his appeal has taken nearly three years and was 'adjourned' eight times, really makes us question what is going on over there," he said.

Oung Chanthol, director of the Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre (CWCC), an NGO that helped bring about the charges, said the organization was delighted that the decision had been upheld, and said it set a "great precedent."

"We are satisfied with the result of the verdict this morning," said CWCC Municipality Coordinator Nop Sarinsreyroth. "Even though nothing can be done to replace the damage done to the victims -at least they have now got justice."

The trial has sparked a great deal of media attention in New Zealand.

Concern about Cleghorn's first appeal hearing, held without his or his lawyer's presence, and without New Zealand or British embassy officials being notified, prompted the New Zealand government to press Cambodian court for a second appeal.

But the absence of witnesses, lawyers and Cleghorn himself meant it took numerous attempts and more than 12 months before the hearing was finally held.

After the July 10 decision was announced the New Zealand embassy consul in Bangkok, Grant Traill, said that New Zealand does not hold any opinions on the outcomes of criminal proceedings against New Zealanders.

"As long as the appeal process was in accordance with Cambodian law and proper judicial process, the verdict must be accepted," he said.

But many New Zealanders remain concerned that Cleghorn did not receive what could be considered a fair trial by New Zealand standards.

Cleghorn maintains the victims, who all worked for him, were paid up to $10,000 each by the CWCC to testify against him.

Further accusations that the original judge was in cahoots with the CWCC and was intending to blackmail Cleghorn for his land, did little to quell rumors that Cleghorn had been set up.

While the legal wrangling continues, the media is proving an increasingly important player in this drama.

The handling of the trial and subsequent appeals ensured that doubts still lingered in New Zealand about the efficiency and efficacy of the Cambodian justice system, and as a result the case received widespread media coverage.

Not all of that coverage was been deemed helpful to Cleghorn's cause.

Dunedin-based Cleghorn supporter Dr Lynley Hood said the serious nature of the allegations carried a powerful emotional impact and profound sense of urgency. Hood is the author of "A City Possessed," a book which questioned the methods used to gain the high-profile conviction Peter Ellis on child sex abuse charges. Hood said there were parallels between the two cases.

"These factors can cloud any dispassionate consideration of the facts. As a result, the accused's right to natural justice is often swept aside in the rush to judgment, and allegations tend to be treated as established facts," Hood said via email.

"Nothing is more damaging and defamatory than wrongly accusing a man of being a pedophile," she added.

Meanwhile, the CWCC has been critical of a so-called "smear campaign" launched by the New Zealand media.

"It is surprising and sorry to see the low quality of professionalism of some NZ media. Most articles presented only one-sided-information, echoing the voice of Cleghorn, his supporters or sympathizers, who strategically slandered or defamed CWCC to get the attention out of his case," she said.

Chanthol said often little effort was made to contact either the victims or CWCC and she has consistently denied Cleghorn's claims the CWCC had bribed victims.

"[Cleghorn] has been shown as innocent and sympathetic by stating that he lost weight, attempted to commit suicide, his teeth were falling out...these articles completely failed to say about the suffering, tears, trauma, and future of the girls and their families," Chanthol told the Post.

"I could not understand those articles which condemned CWCC, which helps thousand girls who were raped, trafficked and beaten up by their abusive husbands, while they were campaigning for the convicted. Would they do that if the case happened in New Zealand?"

King said his client had a lot of support in New Zealand, and a media campaign was being used to maintain public momentum for the case.

The $1,000 license to rape

Excerpt from Violence Against Women in Cambodia 2006
Licadho

My name is Ly Viden, I am 18 years old. I was raped. This is my story.

I live with my aunty and my sisters in the village. We all work on the land farming and also in the rice fields.

One day, my sisters and I went to guard the cows at the rice fields near our house. We let the cows eat some grass and decided to have a rest whilst they were eating. Two of my sisters went to swim in a nearby pond and my other sister and I sat under a tree, watching the cows and talking to each other.

After half an hour, a man that I had not seen before, came up to me and asked him if I had seen his four cows. I told that him that I had not seen his cows and he should go and check the rice fields for himself. The man stayed and talked to me – he seemed very interested in me.

My two sisters, swimming in the pond, called to us and asked one of us to bring them something. I asked my other sister to go instead of me as I was still talking to the man. We watched my sister walk away and when she had reached the pond the man turned to me and hugged me. I was very shocked as I did not know him but all of a sudden he grabbed me and he dragged me to a nearby canal. I tried to scream for help, but he covered my mouth and he would not let go of me.

I kept trying to escape, but I could not get away from him. I was so scared. I tried to struggle but I couldn’t escape and in the end – the man raped me.

After it was over, the man ran away. I tried to get up and I tried to walk towards my sisters. I think I must have screamed because my sisters came running towards me. They kept asking me ‘what happened? what happened?’ but I could not tell them. I was too ashamed.

Finally they carried me home and I told my aunty what had happened. My aunty was very angry at the man and immediately went to the police station to report what had happened. My sisters made me wash and go to sleep but I could not sleep. I was too scared to be alone so one of my sisters stayed with me.

The next day the police arrested the man and later he was sent to prison. I felt a bit safer knowing that the man could not hurt me anymore and I would not have to see him again. But I still had trouble sleeping and I would not go anywhere by myself.

A few weeks after the man had gone to prison, my aunt received a visit from the local police and a strange man. I did not know why they had come to see her. After they left my aunt explained to me that the police had come with the father of the man who raped me. The father had offered to pay me compensation for his son raping me. However he would only pay me the money if I dropped my complaint against his son.

I was very confused and my aunt told me that it would be better to accept the money as the family was willing to pay lot of money, 4,000,000 riels ($1000 USD). I listened to my aunt and she talked to the police. After that, the man was released from prison and I have not seen him since then. The police came to give me my compensation, and in the end I only received $700 USD. My aunt said that the police had taken the rest of the money as a fee for organizing the payment.

I still feel very sad and angry about what happened. I feel confused about the money I received. On the one hand, it has allowed my sisters to go to school and I have been able to give my aunty some money to help her. But I think that I would feel better if the man who raped me was still in prison, so that I wouldn’t have to be scared anymore.