Child prisoners reportedly suffer beatings from inmates and guardsWednesday, 31 January 2007
By Guy De Launey
BBC News, Cambodia
Human rights organisations have criticised the way children are treated in Cambodia's justice system.
They say there are hundreds of under-age prisoners in the country's jails and many of them are forced to share cells with adults.
A coalition of local and international groups has called on the government to pass legislation to protect the children.
Conditions in Cambodia's jails are notorious.
There can be as many as 60 inmates in a single cell, food is scarce, and standards of hygiene are poor.
Life is difficult enough for adult prisoners but human rights groups say it is unacceptable that children are sharing the same conditions.
Beatings
There is only one facility in the country designed for juvenile prisoners. The rest of the rising number of under-age detainees have to take their chances with adults.
The local rights organisation, Licadho, says that children have reported beatings from prison officials and fellow-inmates alike.
An official from the United Nations' children's organisation, Unicef, warned that the problem was getting out of hand.
Sandy Feinzig has also been working with the government to introduce a juvenile detention law and a new criminal procedure code.
''This year our hopes are to get these two laws passed, which could do a tremendous amount to reduce the sentences for children, divert them into projects, provide alternatives to sentencing, all of which will lessen the overcrowding in the current prison facilities,'' she says.
The need for reform is clear. This week local newspapers reported that a prisoner in a provincial jail died from a "hunger-related disease".
A government spokesman said it was difficult to justify spending more on food for convicts, when many public sector workers earned just $20 a month.
They say there are hundreds of under-age prisoners in the country's jails and many of them are forced to share cells with adults.
A coalition of local and international groups has called on the government to pass legislation to protect the children.
Conditions in Cambodia's jails are notorious.
There can be as many as 60 inmates in a single cell, food is scarce, and standards of hygiene are poor.
Life is difficult enough for adult prisoners but human rights groups say it is unacceptable that children are sharing the same conditions.
Beatings
There is only one facility in the country designed for juvenile prisoners. The rest of the rising number of under-age detainees have to take their chances with adults.
The local rights organisation, Licadho, says that children have reported beatings from prison officials and fellow-inmates alike.
An official from the United Nations' children's organisation, Unicef, warned that the problem was getting out of hand.
Sandy Feinzig has also been working with the government to introduce a juvenile detention law and a new criminal procedure code.
''This year our hopes are to get these two laws passed, which could do a tremendous amount to reduce the sentences for children, divert them into projects, provide alternatives to sentencing, all of which will lessen the overcrowding in the current prison facilities,'' she says.
The need for reform is clear. This week local newspapers reported that a prisoner in a provincial jail died from a "hunger-related disease".
A government spokesman said it was difficult to justify spending more on food for convicts, when many public sector workers earned just $20 a month.
13 comments:
Admitting mistake, direct or indirect, is the first step toward solutions.
1ii07
There is no mistake in discipline
kids and set examples for the rest
while they are young.
We don't want our country to be
like Long Beach, CA, alright?
We have far better vision for
cambodia than stupid Ethiopian
Racists. Got the picture?
Child abuser! child abuser! child abuser!
Juvenile Criminal System in Cambodia must change!!!!! and change Now! Every child in Cambodia must have a loving home and parents! Let them go! build them home! provide them food! and provide them real education!
You baboon people must get your act together!!!!!!! and act now!!!!!!
Wrong, this aint no Long Beach, CA.
and it won't be one ever.
I really don't understand with the current government. They do the thing like funny and so stupid.
We ask this question they asnswer another way. Corruption still curruption, deforestation stil deforestation, lad crabbing still land crabbing. What are you doing guys? Are you sleeping or to be pretent to be sleep?
Hey this topic is about
disciplining kids, not corruption.
However, since you asked, we are
working on it, and we are doing
a lot better than you in the west
on a $ per $ basis.
Just look at Iraq, for instance,
they have a lot more money than
we do and yet they are more
corrupted than we are.
Accordingly, if you can't even
run a country with hundreds of
billions or trillions, there is
no way you can run a country with
peanuts.
Does that answered your question?
Because of the living stardard of khmer people is too low and educational system is too weak and corrupt. So, some children haven't studied at all, then they do the thing bilndly. A week ago I was surpriced, because I saw a child about 11 on the TV had been handcuffed to be accused of involving in robbery. And the HUN SEN's nephew,...... phea, killed the coconut sellers now is freely.
Any body can answer this?
Hey, get real, there is no such
think as poor people living in
a luxurious life-style, alright?
It will take time for us to grow.
I know it look slow, but as I was
saying before, we are riding on
an exponential curve. Once we
reached the knee of the curve
the change will be more apparent,
and we are not that far from it
either. I have estimated that we
will be there around 2010, so
don't blow it for all of us, okay?
CPP AND THEIR BOUGHT FOR LIFE SLAVES STAND FOR DUMB AND UGLY KHMERS.
WANT TO MEET AN UGLY KHMER? GET IN TOUCH WITH ONE OF THEM. THEY WILL FIND MORE THAN A 100O WAYS TOBE UGLY AND NASTY TO YOU. UGLY PEOPLE.
Stop trying to change the subject
you Ethiopians tics.
We all know you are here to sell
your stupid obsolete weapons to
us for our oil so that we will
distroyed what we have lelf, that
is why you created high tension
between Khmers, and Khmers and its
neighbors.
But unfortunately for you, you
ain't smart enough for that.
And last but not least, don't even
try to whitewash your crime against
khmer people also for burning
our country down to the ground in
the 70's. Capice?
Beautiful Khmer's little Prince. He should be in a good loving home with his parents, brothers and sisters and plenty plenty of nutritional food to eat, a play ground to play and a fine school to attend or to learn. Not a prison. Not at all. How very sad. No one is normal wishing a kid would be treated this way.
Ordinary Khmers
Hey, Khmer parent does not breed
criminals and to have the criminals
to bite the hand that feed them
and innocent law-abiding citizens,
okay?
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