The Phnom Penh kangaroo court orders a 2nd impoundment of Mrs. Mu Sochua’s Salary in a mockery of justice in Cambodia

Mu Sochua versus Cambodia's weak-leg-dictator

11 August 2010
By Yun Samien
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Komping Puoy
Click here to read the article in Khmer

On 09 August, Chea Sok Heang, the judge of the Phnom Penh municipal court, ordered the National Assembly (NatAss) to impound an additional 8.5 million riels from Mrs. Mu Sochua’s MP salary to hand over to the Cambodian national treasury.

This 8.5 million riels sum is the fine imposed on Mrs. Mu Sochua when she lost her case Hun Xen’s defamation lawsuit. This is also the second time that Mrs. Mu Sochua’s salary will be impounded. In July, the NatAss had decided to impound her salary once already for an amount of 8 million riels to pay for Hun Xen’s compensation.

Mrs. Mu Sochua declares that the second impoundment of her MP salary is an encouragement for the judicial system that is not independent and that is under political pressure.

Cheam Yeap, a member of NatAss permanent committee, told RFA on Wednesday 11 August that the NatAss will abide by the court request to impound Mrs. Mu Sochua’s salary for an amount of 8.5 million riels and turn this sum to the state treasury.

Cheam Yeap added that the NatAss must abide by the court decision on the impoundment of Mrs. Mu Sochua’s salary and the court request for this impoundment is reasonable because the court is not impounding her entire salary, but that she is left with something to live with.

On 09 August, judge Chea Sok Heang decided to order the impoundment of Mrs. Mu Sochua for an amount of 4.2 million riels per month until all the 8.5 million riels fine is collected, following the end of the first impoundment of her salary to pay Hun Xen’s compensation. Chea Sok Heang ordered that Mrs. Mu Sochua must not impede or prevent the NatAss official in charge of paying her salary.

The NatAss had already decided to impound 8 million riels from Mrs. Mu Sochua’s salary for the months of July and August to pay Hun Xen, and the NatAss will take similar measures to impound her salary once again in September. The court had ordered Mrs. Mu Sochua to pay fine and compensation amounting to 16.5 million riels after she lost her case to Hun Xen’s defamation lawsuit.

On Wednesday, Mrs. Mu Sochua declared that she does not agree with the impoundment of her salary because she is the victim of Hun Xen’s defamation on her. She added that the NatAss did not defend its member who has been violated by the tribunal and by this injustice at all.

Cheam Yeap explained that the NatAss must impound Mrs. Mu Sochua’s salary once again because the NatAss cannot oppose the decision by court. He said that Mrs. Mu Sochua must accept the sentence for her own action.

In July, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) issued a decision indicating that the sentence imposed on Mrs. Mu Sochua is an urgent matter and it is also a mockery of the judicial system.

The IPU is an international parliamentary organization that counts members from 155 countries and it asked the Cambodian authority and the Cambodian NatAss to take measures to correct the situation in Mrs. Mu Sochua’s case. The IPU will continue to observe the case of Mrs. Mu Sochua during its October 2010 meeting.

Cheam Yeap rejected the IPU’s accusation, claiming that the IPU does not understand the law in Cambodia.