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CAMBODIA: Police fail to arrest persons who mutilated the fingers of an alleged thief in Banteay province

September 16, 2008

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-207-2008

17 September 2008
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CAMBODIA: Police fail to arrest persons who mutilated the fingers of an alleged thief in Banteay province

ISSUES: Police negligence; right to justice; no investigation
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a group of villagers had badly beaten a teenager named San Seng, aged 18. They cut off two fingers on his left hand for allegedly stealing two mobile phone sets on 9 September 2008 in Palilay village, Poipet commune, O Chreou district, Banteay Meanchey province. The alleged thief has been arrested and brought to justice while none of his attackers has been arrested.

CASE DETAILS:

According to information received, on 9 September 2008 about  5:30pm, San Seng alias Loeut, aged 18, together with another youth named Nang allegedly went to steal two cell phone sets in a house in Palilay village, Poipet commune, O Chreou district, Banteay province, in northwestern Cambodia, near the Thai border.  The owner of the house, Sao Try, aged 26, was away for a short while. But Sao returned just when the two were about to run away with the stolen goods. Sao immediately set out in pursuit, shouting "Thief! Thief!"

Nang made off with the goods. Between 70 and 80 villagers, responding to Sao's cries, grabbed hold of San Seng, pounding him, and beating him severely using fists, feet and sticks. They then cut off two of the fingers on his left hand. The police arrived at the scene some time later and arrested San Seng. He was taken to the police station where he received treatment for his injuries.The Police got a confession from him and brought him before the province's public prosecutor for indictment. However, none of villagers who attacked San Seng were investigated

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

San Seng had no fixed address, living roughly in the streets, when he was arrested. He was seen scavenging for scraps to sell to sustain himself. He associated with Nang who took him to steal the phone sets.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
 
This is yet another case where people have taken the law into their own hands. They punish alleged offenders by beating them and mutilating parts of their bodies. Last March, in Kompong Cham province, the owner of a car repair shop, together with two of his employees, cut off the thumbs and big toes of his third employee for alleging abusing the owner's trust. This employee with permission borrowed his employer's motorbike to enjoy a leave of absence in his home village. He overstayed his leave and was punished by mutilation of hands and feet upon returning to work.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write your letters to the authorities listed below to request them to take action against San Seng's attackers and other measures to prevent people from taking the law in their own hands.

Please be informed that the AHRC has also written separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of human rights in Cambodia and OHCHR in Cambodia calling for an intervention in this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear______,

CAMBODIA: Police fail to arrest persons who mutilated the fingers of an alleged thief in Banteay province

Name of victim: San Seng alias Loeut, aged 18, no fixed address but known to be living in Poipet commune, O Chreou district, Banteay Meanchey province; beaten up and two fingers cut off his left hand by villagers in Palilay village, Poipet commune, O Chreou district, Banteay Meanchey province on 9 September 2008

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the failure to thoroughly investigate the case of San Seng who was caught by villagers on suspicion of being a thief.

According to the information that I have received, a group of about 70 to 80 villagers had severely beaten a teenager named San Seng, aged 18, and cut off two of the fingers of his left hand. He allegedly stole two mobile phone sets with another youth named Nang, on 9 September 2008 in Palilay village, Poipet commune, O Chreou district, Banteay Meanchey province.

Nang made off with the stolen goods, but San was arrested and brought to justice while not one of his attackers has even been investigated or arrested.

I find it horrific that in Cambodia, which is supposed to be governed by the rule of law, people have been allowed to take the law into their own hands. They resorted to such barbarity as the beating of alleged offenders and mutilation of their limbs. And they have gotten away with these crimes. In addition, a thorough investigation has not been conducted into this case. It had already been reported to the authorities concerned but so far, the government has failed to make even a preliminary inquiry into the facts resulting in a failure to prosecute and punish.

I therefore urge you to immediately investigate the attack on San Seng and the mutilation of his fingers, and bring his attackers to justice. I also urge you to take measures to prevent such future mob rule and ensuing barbarity. These measures may include mass education in the rule of law and exhortation of the people not to use unnecessary force against alleged offenders. But, after having caught any offenders, take them instead to the police so that they could be punished according to the law.

I trust that you will positively consider my above requests.

Yours sincerely,

___
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Hun Sen
Prime Minister
Cabinet of the Prime Minister
No. 38, Russian Federation Street
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: +855 23 36 0666
Tel: +855 2321 9898
E-mail: cabinet1b@camnet.com.kh

2. Mr. Sar Kheng
Deputy-Prime Minister
Minister of Interior
No.275 Norodom Blvd., Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax/phone: +855 23 721 905 / 23 726 052 / 23 721 190
E-Mail: info@interior.gov.kh

3. Mr. Ang Vong Vathna
Minister of Justice
No 240, Sothearos Blvd.
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: +855 23 36 4119 / 21 6622
E-mail: moj@cambodia.gov.kh

4. Mr. Henro Raken
Prosecutor-General
Court of Appeal
No 240, Sothearos Blvd.
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: +855 23 21 66 22
Tel: +855 11 86 27 70

5. General Hok Lundy
National Police Commissioner
General-Commisariat of National Police
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: +855 23 22 09 52
Tel: +855 23 21 65 85

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-207-2008
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.