Tuesday, 28 August 2007
By RUTH HILL
The Dominion Post (New Zealand)
Supporters of a former Wellington man jailed in Cambodia for raping five girls say their refusal to bribe the appeal judges with more than $16,000 may have cost him his chance at freedom.
The allegations of corruption stirred up by the case may have also instigated the downfall of Cambodia's Appeals Court president.
Graham Cleghorn, 60, was sentenced in 2004 to 20 years in prison for raping five of his employees, aged 14 to 19, in Siem Reap, 314 kilometres northwest of Phnom Penh.
The former Angkor temple tour guide maintains he was framed by the Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre, which he says fabricated the charges to get foreign aid money.
The group and complainants vehemently deny his claims.
Last month the Cambodian Court of Appeal threw out Cleghorn's second appeal. His New Zealand lawyer, Greg King, said Cleghorn's daughter, Heidi Madeley, was shocked to be asked for US$12,000 (NZ$16,530) cash by Cambodian defence counsel Ry Ouk just days before the appeal date.
The request, which came after "informal discussions" with the judge, was ostensibly to cover the cost of a reinvestigation of the case.
"We had no way of knowing whether that was a legitimate request."
Despite being warned to keep the request secret, they contacted New Zealand Embassy staff in Bangkok, who were informed by the Cambodian Court of Appeal that the expense was legitimate.
However, Mr Ouk was furious that "client confidentiality" had been breached and threatened to resign just three days before the hearing.
Cleghorn's supporters managed to raise US$6000 and sent it to him on July 9.
But there was no "reinvestigation" - the next day the conviction was upheld without a single witness being called.
It was possible the other side had come up with a bigger bribe - or that inquiries by New Zealand officials had "stirred things up", Mr King said.
On August 13, Appeals Court president Ly Vuochleng - who was expected to approve the reinvestigation - was arrested over bribery and corruption allegations relating to other cases.
"It's quite possible the appeal failed because the whole corruption thing was exposed after inquiries by New Zealand officials."
Mr King said Cleghorn was adamant he would not buy his way out of prison. "He wants to get out by being proved innocent, not by paying bribes."
The legal team had filed an appeal with the supreme court - but Mr King said they were "fast running out of options".
"You risk throwing good money after bad to get the same result."
Ms Madeley said she was anxious not to say anything that could jeopardise her father's chances.
"It's fantastic that Cambodia is trying to tidy up its judicial system, but where do you start?"
The fight for her father's freedom had so far cost her tens of thousands of dollars in court costs, lawyers' fees, and travel for witnesses and herself. She also paid for her father's daily keep.
"Hope is the only thing he has ... but it's been four years and his witnesses still haven't been heard."
The Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry said it could not intervene in the judicial processes of another country if it was in accordance with their law.
A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the minister was aware of the bribery allegations, though had not yet seen details.
"We will be having further discussions with the family about the matter, but it is too early at this point to speculate on what action, if any, might be taken."
The allegations of corruption stirred up by the case may have also instigated the downfall of Cambodia's Appeals Court president.
Graham Cleghorn, 60, was sentenced in 2004 to 20 years in prison for raping five of his employees, aged 14 to 19, in Siem Reap, 314 kilometres northwest of Phnom Penh.
The former Angkor temple tour guide maintains he was framed by the Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre, which he says fabricated the charges to get foreign aid money.
The group and complainants vehemently deny his claims.
Last month the Cambodian Court of Appeal threw out Cleghorn's second appeal. His New Zealand lawyer, Greg King, said Cleghorn's daughter, Heidi Madeley, was shocked to be asked for US$12,000 (NZ$16,530) cash by Cambodian defence counsel Ry Ouk just days before the appeal date.
The request, which came after "informal discussions" with the judge, was ostensibly to cover the cost of a reinvestigation of the case.
"We had no way of knowing whether that was a legitimate request."
Despite being warned to keep the request secret, they contacted New Zealand Embassy staff in Bangkok, who were informed by the Cambodian Court of Appeal that the expense was legitimate.
However, Mr Ouk was furious that "client confidentiality" had been breached and threatened to resign just three days before the hearing.
Cleghorn's supporters managed to raise US$6000 and sent it to him on July 9.
But there was no "reinvestigation" - the next day the conviction was upheld without a single witness being called.
It was possible the other side had come up with a bigger bribe - or that inquiries by New Zealand officials had "stirred things up", Mr King said.
On August 13, Appeals Court president Ly Vuochleng - who was expected to approve the reinvestigation - was arrested over bribery and corruption allegations relating to other cases.
"It's quite possible the appeal failed because the whole corruption thing was exposed after inquiries by New Zealand officials."
Mr King said Cleghorn was adamant he would not buy his way out of prison. "He wants to get out by being proved innocent, not by paying bribes."
The legal team had filed an appeal with the supreme court - but Mr King said they were "fast running out of options".
"You risk throwing good money after bad to get the same result."
Ms Madeley said she was anxious not to say anything that could jeopardise her father's chances.
"It's fantastic that Cambodia is trying to tidy up its judicial system, but where do you start?"
The fight for her father's freedom had so far cost her tens of thousands of dollars in court costs, lawyers' fees, and travel for witnesses and herself. She also paid for her father's daily keep.
"Hope is the only thing he has ... but it's been four years and his witnesses still haven't been heard."
The Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry said it could not intervene in the judicial processes of another country if it was in accordance with their law.
A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the minister was aware of the bribery allegations, though had not yet seen details.
"We will be having further discussions with the family about the matter, but it is too early at this point to speculate on what action, if any, might be taken."
5 comments:
put those appeal judges in front of a firing squad and then ask them $US300 000 in exchange of their lives. Bloody hell….they turn a government institution into a business. In Cambodia this is exactly what people are complaining about. If you have money and power you have justice……instead of investigating the actual crime….they profit from it at all levels that they can think of…….shame on you arr hun sen.
It's a case of the legal criminals demanding a ransom from the illegal criminals. In Cambodia, the criminals are on either side of the law depending on which hat they choose to wear.
It's a spaghetti justice whereby the actual victims are being bled dry, the scums of the society are volunteered to spend time in jail for the rich and powerful, and the rich and powerful are protected from prosecution for their crimes.
are you guys working for FBI? cuz you seem to have lots of information. Should write a book. Call it "I'm a bitch that likes to bitch at people." Should do something more constructive than bad-mouthing online, you no-life losers.
Dear Ms Madelay
I understand your pain and suffering for your father. The Cambodian people. especially the weak and the poor, are also suffering from Hun sen's dictatorial regime, which has generated social injustice, general corruption and the abuse of power.
Hun sen's "reform" is just a make up service. How can he "Really" punish his corrupt officials, the ones who have supported him to cling to the power?
I don't think anyone here is working for the FBI. FBI agents are paid to go after the criminals in the field, not to spend their time online expressing their opinions that may or may not be taken seriously.
What is written online is for the benefits of the ignorant, such as 10:45 AM, to be aware of what is going on. It's also an essential element of free speech. The last sentence of 10:45 AM actually refers to himself. Don't piss against the wind, otherwise you will wet yourself, dude!
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