Hun Sen tells officials not to meddle with vice crackdown

People check out a closed Cambo Six football betting parlour shortly after Hun Sen announced the stripping of the company’s licence during a speech at the National Institute of Education in February 2009. The premier decried the persistence of illicit gambling in a speech on Thursday. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)

Friday, 05 March 2010
Vong Sokheng and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
The Phnom Penh Post

HIGH-ranking officials must stop undermining government and police efforts to stamp out illicit gambling and prostitution, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday.

Speaking at an event in Phnom Penh to mark next week’s International Women’s Day, Hun Sen said some senior officials are guilty of “misconduct”, intentionally circumventing efforts to reduce human trafficking and gambling.

“I am regretful of the misconduct of some leaders who have interfered with the court and law enforcement officials,” Hun Sen said. “The culture of impunity is not acceptable.”

Hun Sen did not name specific officials in his speech, during which he urged police to step up actions targeting human trafficking and gambling.

“We have already closed down slot machines, lotteries and cockfighting industries, but I question whether the industries still remain open or not,” he said. “I would like that the year 2010 is the year to take measures to fight against human trafficking and all forms of illegal gambling.”

Officially, all forms of gambling are banned in the Kingdom – except when “permitted by the Royal government”, according to the 1996 Law on the Suppression of Gambling.

Cheam Yeap, a senior lawmaker with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, said there are currently 32 licensed casinos in the Kingdom, mostly built along border areas.

Casinos have proved to be a valuable income generator, bringing almost US$20 million into government coffers in 2008, officials have previously said.

However, that was before a 2009 crackdown when the prime minister abruptly ordered all sports-betting outlets and slot-machine parlours to close, saying they were causing a moral decline in Cambodia.

Speaking at the same event, Minister of Women’s Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi said violence against women and children still remains a significant problem in the Kingdom.

She decried what she said were increasing fears by teenagers of gang rape, which she linked to the consumption of alcohol, drugs and pornography.

“These issues have intoxicated the social atmosphere and damaged the public order,” she said. “They are psychologically affecting our youth and creating unfavourable conditions for the next generation.”

Sex workers protest against alleged police abuse

A Cambodian sex worker, front, holds a banner read ' Condoms Protect Police Threaten' in a conference room during their protest in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, June 4, 2008. About 200 Cambodian sex workers protested Wednesday against a police crackdown on prostitution and alleged that some of them had been physically and sexually abused in custody. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Cambodian sex workers stage a protest in a conference room in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, June 4, 2008. About 200 Cambodian sex workers protested Wednesday against a police crackdown on prostitution and alleged that some of them had been physically and sexually abused in custody. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Cambodian sex workers stage a protest in a conference room in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, June 4, 2008. About 200 Cambodian sex workers protested Wednesday against a police crackdown on prostitution and alleged that some of them had been physically and sexually abused in custody. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Cambodian sex workers sit in a meeting room for protest in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, June 4, 2008. About 200 Cambodian sex workers protested Wednesday against a police crackdown on prostitution and alleged that some of them had been physically and sexually abused in custody. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Khieu Sopheak calling sex work unacceptable in Cambodia ... maybe he forgot to consult his boss first

Cambodian prostitutes protest police crackdown, allege physical and sexual abuse

Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: About 200 Cambodian prostitutes protested peacefully Wednesday against a police crackdown and claimed to have been physically and sexually abused in custody.

The prostitutes staged a protest in the capital, Phnom Penh, to complain that they had been unlawfully detained and to highlight the behavior of guards at the rehabilitation center where they were held.

"Some of them (the sex workers) were beaten and gang raped by the center guards, and most of the time they did not use condoms," said Chan Dina, a 31-year-old prostitute and member of the Cambodian Prostitute Union, a sex workers' advocacy group.

Police began rounding up male and female sex workers from brothels, bars and parks in March, detaining them for a week to 10 days at the Prey Speu rehabilitation center on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

Cambodian law does not explicitly define prostitution as illegal, but commercial sex is frowned upon by authorities who routinely launch sweeps to clean up the streets.

"Sex workers are human beings and we have equal rights" and deserve protection from abuse, Chan Dina said.

"We do not think that sex work is wrong. It is just a means to an end," said Pich Sokchea, a 42-year-old transvestite sex worker with the Women's Network for Unity, another prostitutes' advocacy group.

Pich Sokchea urged the government to end the crackdown because it was affecting the livelihood of sex workers, many of whom were forced into the profession by poverty and debts. "We are people who sacrifice everything for the sake of our families and for our livelihood."

It was unclear what prompted the latest crackdown but some activists said an anti-trafficking law approved in March may have caused authorities to take a tougher stand against prostitution.

Police Lt. Gen. Khieu Sopheak, the Interior Ministry's spokesman, dismissed claims that police committed violence against sex workers and said none was mistreated in the crackdown.

He defended the crackdown, calling sex work unacceptable in Cambodia.

Cambodia to investigate alleged police abuse of sex workers

Jun 4, 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodia's top anti-trafficking official Wednesday pledged an immediate investigation after sex workers tearfully alleged a new zero tolerance policy on brothels had led to rapes, robberies and abuses of human rights by police.

More than 100 sex workers and representatives gathered to urge the government to ease new legislation that makes brothels illegal and has resulted in scores of sex workers being rounded up by police.

'Among the sex workers who were detained ... some were living with HIV/AIDS and needed treatment every day, but were unable to obtain it,' Chan Dina from the Cambodia Prostitute Union said.

'Some were beaten and gang raped by guards, and most of the time they did not wear condoms,' Dina said. 'How can we reduce the AIDS epidemic if the guards keep raping women?'

Cambodia has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the region, and rights groups said the new legislation was forcing sex workers away from education and health services and onto the streets.

Interior Ministry Anti-Trafficking Chief Bith Kimhong said the allegations were new to him and he doubted their veracity, but pledged a full and immediate investigation.

He said the government was only detaining brothel owners and managers for significant periods, and police were only 're-educating' prostitutes and some male patrons.

Cambodia, once known as a haven for pedophiles and a hotspot in the region's flesh trade, implemented new legislation earlier this year which sex workers say equates consensual sex work with human trafficking and is too broad.

Kimhong said he remained determined to close down brothels.

Zero tolerance of brothels ... but OK for brothels run by high-ranking gov't officials

Cambodia implements zero tolerance of brothels despite protests

Jun 3, 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - Dozens of sex worker representatives will meet in the capital to protest the implementation of new laws which make brothels illegal, the groups involved said Tuesday.

Scores of sex workers have been rounded up and dozens of brothels closed since the government recently invoked new laws which workers say unfairly equate consensual sex with human trafficking.

Some male patrons have also been detained and 're-educated.'

The groups say they will appeal directly to Prime Minister Hun Sen to modify the laws, claiming to have been unfairly targeted in the country's moral crackdown which has seen everything from skimpy dresses on television to adultery outlawed in recent years.

Once notorious for its sex trade and known as a haven for perverts and child molesters, Cambodia has made a concerted effort to change this reputation, arresting dozens of men for sex crimes and now attacking the country's thriving flesh trade.

But sex worker groups say the crackdown is only forcing women into the streets or the karaoke bars often used as fronts for prostitution and away from access to health care and education.

Interior Ministry anti-trafficking chief Bith Kimhong was unrepentant, saying the crackdown will continue.

'It is a difficult job because when we shut one, another just opens up, but I will continue to investigate each one, and when we have the evidence, we will continue to close them, because they affect the honour of Cambodia,' he said by telephone.

The sex worker representatives said they would meet on Wednesday, one day before Interior Minister Sar Kheng is due to join a global conference call on anti-trafficking with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, according to a US embassy press release Tuesday.