Election monitoring

The Asia Times yesterday gazed into the tea leaves for insight into the coming national elections. In a counterintuitive reading, the AT article suggests that the large number of smaller parties will give the ruling giant trouble.

A gathering coalition of smaller parties could give Prime Minister Hun Sen’s now dominant Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) an unexpected run for its money at National Assembly elections scheduled for this July.

The CPP has ruled the country either alone or in tandem with rival parties since the restoration of multi-party democracy in 1993 and in recent years has strongly consolidated its grip on political power. With its comparatively strong grassroots network, firm control over the national media, and recent successful economic policies, the CPP is widely expected to win the most seats at this year’s polls. But perhaps not by the landslide many analysts had until now predicted.

To substantiate this hypothesis Brian McCartan, the author of the story, reads the growing list of electoral complaints as signs of weakness on the part of the CPP. And perhaps in some small way that is true. But such contrarianism is likely misplaced.

“Rough and tumble election campaigns,” as the AT article puts it, are not a calculated CPP GOTV strategy per se. Political thuggery, violence and intimidation are ways of life in patriarchal Cambodia, not campaign techniques.

As McCartan points out, reports of election-related violence so far are at all-time lows. And why shouldn’t it be? The CPP controls 98% of the country’s communes. The historical leader of the Funcinpec party remains in self-imposed exiled and what’s left of the beheaded opposition remains firmly on a CPP leash. Throw in the recent constitutional change allowing for a simple majority to form a government, and the CPP doesn’t need a landslide. It just needs 51%. Beyond deluded opposition party lackeys, nobody believes the CPP won’t take that with a comfortable margin.

Cambodia: How safe is it?

Safe as houses London, says a new study.

Phnom Penh is now a safer city than London, New York, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Buenos Aires, although crime rates are still high in rural areas, according to a new report.

The study by Rod Broadhurst and Thierry Bouhours of Australia’s Griffith University surveyed 1,092 households in the capital and 635 in Kandal province, comparing the findings with similar sweeps conducted in 2001 and United Nations crime perception statistics from 26 other cities across the world.

[...]

“We attribute [the fall in crime] to improvements in local governance, more wealth, better security and reduction in firearms,” Broadhurst said by email. However, Phnom Penh is still plagued by high levels of burglary, corruption and theft, and victimization rates in Kandal have remained constant since 2001, the report said.

Madonna considers Cambodian adoption

So sayeth the gossip rags.

Pop superstar Madonna reportedly wants to adopt a second child and is considering Cambodia and Palestine as likely regions from where she could get a kid.

Though she had a bad experience with her adoption of Malawian child David Banda, she has not been deterred. She now wants to add to her family with husband Guy Ritchie. The process in Malawi is still not over even though she has had David for 18 months, contactmusic.com reports.

[...]

Madonna has slammed claims that celebrities adopting kids is just a “fad”.

She said: “I don’t see how anyone who understands how complicated it is to adopt a child could say that someone chose to do that as a fad. It’s just too difficult. It’s too traumatic.

More prehistoric discoveries

Villagers in Thailand have stumbled across utensils in a cave dating back 4,000 years.

Archeologists found scattered household utensils and pottery belonging to the prehistoric period in a cave in an eastern Thai province bordering Cambodia. Lt. Niran Yano accompanied by archeologists explored a cave on Chanthaburi’s Khao Noi mountain near the Thai-Cambodian border and reported the discovery of archeological objects dated back 4,000 years.

The exploration was carried out after the local residents reported the accidental discovery of such objects scattered and in some cases, buried, in the floor of a cave large enough to accommodate hundreds of people. The villagers also said that objects of similar appearance and antiquity had been found in other sites such as caves on Khao Jum-pa and Khao Sa-thorn mountains. The two caves are seven kilometres apart, according to Lt. Niran.

The caves are believed to be located along an ancient and unexplored trade route connecting what is now modern-day Cambodia and Thailand. The significance of the find is still unknown.

Audit clears ECCC

Remember all those allegations of corruption, kickbacks-for-jobs, incompetence and nepotism leveled at the ECCC a few months back. That’s all cool now.

Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal is making significant progress in improving management problems that led to accusations of corruption, donors said Friday after a new audit.

Allegations of kickbacks and malpractice have dogged Cambodian members of the tribunal. An earlier audit initiated by the U.N. found shortcomings in its management.

[...]

A new audit scrutinizing the Cambodian side’s operations shows reforms have been effective, two diplomats from the United Nations and the European Commission said.

“This special review has shown that we (now) have a system that can work,” Rafael Dochao Moreno, charge d’affaires of the European Commission’s mission to Cambodia, told reporters.

Hor Namhong vs Sam Rainsy, part II

Sam Rainsy, who is currently traveling in the United States, spoke to Voice of America about the lawsuit filed against him by Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong.

Sam Rainsy said that he will not apologize to Hor Nam Hong who threatened to sue him.

Sam Rainsy, who is currently visiting the US, said that he did not specifically name Hor Nam Hong as being the Boeng Trabek jail chief: “Whatever I spoke was the truth, and I did not name anybody. I only said that the person had the rank of minister of Foreign Affairs after the KR regime. After the KR regime, there are many Foreign Affairs ministers: the one immediately after Ieng Sary, following Pol Pot’s departure, was Mr. Hun Sen, then there was Mr. Kong Korm, Prince Norodom Sirivudh, and then Mr. Hor Nam Hong.

[...]

Sam Rainsy added that there is no need to look for any further tribunal, if (Hor Nam Hong) wants to sue about the KR issue, the Extraordinary Chamber in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC or KR Tribunal) is a tribunal that can be trusted to find out who the Boeng Trabek jail chief really was..

Sam Rainsy said that the current situation is different from what it used to be in the past, if indeed there is a lawsuit against each other: “Before, it was difficult to find witnesses, because at that time, the UN did not arrive (in Cambodia) yet, and there was no UNTAC election organization yet either. No witnesses dare to come out (at that time). But now, the situation is such that, after the 1993 election, there are human rights organizations, there is the documentation center, now we have information, we have more witnesses than before. Earlier, King Norodom Sihanouk had a hard time finding (witnesses), then, nobody dares to come out, and there were not many documents, there was no documentation center as we have now. Therefore, the (current) situation is different from what it used to be.”

If Rainsy knows of people who will come forth and testify against Hor Namhong, he might have a case. That seems unlikely, though. People who have made a living out of researching these things do not believe that Hor Namhong held any serious responsibility at any time under the Khmer Rouge. Nor is it likely that he-said-she-said bickering over 30-year-old events will produce conclusive evidence either way. (Not to mention the courts are totally in the pocket of the CPP and a fair trial would be impossible.)

So right now Rainsy faces to two unappealing options: apologize, or give up Cambodia. While he might be defiant now, Sam Rainsy knows what’s good for Sam Rainsy. And campaigning for the July elections from France is not it.

Another day, another death

DPA reports:

Phnom Penh – A Cambodian man has been charged with murdering his own father after becoming ‘embarrassed’ by village gossip that the man was a sorcerer, police said Thursday.

Penal police chief in the central province of Kampong Chhnang, Chim Bunthueon, said Tong Syleina, 20, attacked his father, Khat Tongly, 56, on Monday, hacking him to death with a machete.

[...]

‘He admitted that he did the murder because he felt ashamed and embarrassed about village gossip that his father was a sorcerer. The villagers insulted his family with this talk and called him son of sorcerer and witch boy,’ Bunthueon said.

Phone taps

In a rather endearing post about injustice in Cambodia, Carrie Martin says this:

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend a Christians for Social Justice meeting here in Phnom Penh … my mind was blown by information about injustices in this country … Information about a major cell phone company tapping NGO phone lines …

Huh? Details, please.

Jacques Vergès: Day 1

In just his first day at the ECCC, and already Jacques Vergès is raising Cain.

THE controversial French lawyer defending the former president of the Khmer Rouge stormed out of Cambodia’s genocide tribunal yesterday – because thousands of pages of documents had not been translated into French.

Jacques Vergès is defending Khieu Samphan, 76, in his appeal against pre-trial detention on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

[...]

He told journalists that judges at the Phnom Penh hearing had asked Khieu Samphan to find a new lawyer. “This is a scandal,” he said. “This never happens, except in dictatorships.”

It seems unlikely that Mr Verges will be long for Cambodia with cracks like that. Fewer things ruffle Cambodian sensibilities like an uppity barang.

Rainsy in the clink

Rasmei Kampuchea says that Sam Rainsy faces a stint in prison for his wisecracks about Hor Namhong.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Nam Hong said on Tuesday that he was forced to sue Sam Rainsy, the opposition leader in Cambodia, for disinformation.

The opposition leader could face imprisonment or a fine if he is found guilty in the disinformation lawsuit, according to the Cambodian law.

[...]

However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that if Sam Rainsy admits that he was wrong and apologised for his mistake, he would not have to bring the lawsuits to the court to keep the political environment calm before the national election, schedule for 27 July 2008.

Anyone that has followed Sam Rainsy’s career will know very well that Sam Rainsy does not do prison. Expect an apology posthaste.

Venus on Earth, redux

Tapehead reviews Dengue Fever’s Venus on Earth.

Beginning with the ultra-sleek, “Seeing Hands,” lead vocalist, Chhom Nimol is the Khmer-equivalent of Nancy Sinatra, exuding the same sort of sex kitten cuteness that calls for slink dresses and go-go boots, but not at the expense of her voice, which is what really draws attention. Most of the songs are sung in Khmer (Cambodian language), so the instrumentation winds up setting the tone, which ranges anywhere from sultry and laid back (“Clipped Wings”) to determined and passionate (“Laugh Track.”)

That being said, these actually wind up being the album’s highpoints as the English language tracks lack the poetry to match the music. It’s as if the group dumbs themselves down, opting for the overdubbed version of the foreign film because they hate to read movies.

The “foreign films” analogy is perhaps a bit awkward, but true nonetheless. The Khmer language stuff on the new album, same as previous albums, far outshines the English stuff.

Available at Russian Market.

Khieu Samphan makes ECCC debut

Khieu Samphan appeared in court today to protest his detention.

The former head of state of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge government has appeared at United Nations-backed tribunal to appeal for release from his pre-trial detention.

The tribunal has charged Khieu Samphan, 76, with crimes against humanity and war crimes committed when the communist Khmer Rouge held power between 1975 and 1979.

AP offers a similar version of the events. Reuters, AP and John Vink have photos.

Kids with no rice

As a result of the rising cost of rice, nearly half a million kids are expected to start missing meals in the coming weeks.

The World Food Program cut off rice deliveries to 1,344 Cambodian schools last month after prices doubled and suppliers defaulted on contracts. Schools will run out of food by May 1, depriving about 450,000 children of meals, the WFP estimates.

“Over time, this will result in higher malnutrition rates and lessen the physical and mental development of these children at a critical period in their lives,” says Paul Risley, a Bangkok-based spokesman for the United Nations agency.

Recent curbs on rice exports have made sure that Cambodia’s rice supply remains adequate. But like many Cambodians, the WFP just can’t afford the higher prices. Not and, you know, still put gas in their Landrovers.

Sam Rainsy vs Hor Namhong

Recent remarks by Sam Rainsy have yet again raised debate over to what degree current Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong was a bloodthirsty Khmer Rouge executioner.

In a ceremony to commemorate the fall of Phnom Penh to Khmer Rouge guerrillas in 1975, Sam Rainsy said Thursday at least two ministers in the current government were cadres of the regime.

“One of them was secretary and interpreter of Pol Pot and who is senior minister and Minister of Economy and another current deputy prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs was director of Beoung Trabek prison,” Sam Rainsy said. “The director of a prison can point someone and this person will be disappeared.”

Director of a prison? What? Nobody, not even Sam Rainsy, believes that Hor Namhong was director of anything, much less the Beoung Trabek detention center, known as B-32. The “B” stands for borateh, the Khmer word for foreigner. From 1967 until his return in 1975, Hor Namhong was stationed outside the country, making him, in the eyes of the KR leadership, a foreigner, and thus an extremely unlikely candidate for insider status in the Khmer Rouge brotherhood. But the implication, as Khmerization so helpfully illustrates, is clear.

Sam Rainsy said that Hor Namhong was a director of the Boeng Trabek Prison, which was true. And, as a chief of the prison, he was responsible for the tortures, murders and disappearances of many Cambodian and foreign diplomats, the likes of Sarin Chhak, Chau Seng etc. who were imprisoned at Boeng Trabek and who have disappeared mysteriously without a trace.

Such an interpretation goes light years beyond all available evidence. To the word it is wrong.

Drug dealer kills cop

AP reports on today’s drug bust gone bad.

A handcuffed suspected drug dealer fatally shot a policeman and wounded four other officers with a concealed handgun during a raid Tuesday, police said.

Phnom Penh police Chief Touch Naroth blamed the officers for failing to properly search the suspect when they stormed his room in the Cambodian capital.

After handcuffing the suspect, the raiding officers pushed the man to the floor without patting down his body for hidden weapons, he said.

While police carried out a search of the room, the suspect picked up a small gun that had fallen from the waistband of his pants and started shooting, killing a 31-year-old officer instantly. Four others were hurt.

“It was their negligence for not searching his body right after apprehending him,” Touch Naroth said, adding the wounded officers were being treated at a hospital.

So what do you think happened to the suspect? AP is silent on the issue, if that’s any hint.

UPDATE: Kep Samon, 27, was taken into police custody unharmed. He made the cover of The Cambodia Daily the next morning, Wednesday April 25.

Phnom Penh Post archives

FYI: The Post is putting its entire library online.

Down with the Dalai Lama

Cambodia is not happy with the Dalai Lama.

Cambodia opposes attempts by the Dalai clique to sabotage the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing by making use of the Tibet issue, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong said on Monday.

Cambodia also opposes any foreign interference in China’s internal affairs, said Hor, who is also minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, during a meeting with a visiting Chinese delegation.

Speak out against policies that result in the large-scale slaughter of innocent civilians and the Cambodian government thinks you’re meddling in the affairs of a sovereign nation. Implement policies that result in the large-scale slaughter of another country’s innocent civilians and the Cambodian government thinks you’re just dandy.

Somebody obviously missed a lesson or two on karma.

Sad but true

The Sex Trafficking blog takes a brief historical look at prostitution in late 20th and early 21st century Cambodia.

As I mentioned before, the communist regime in the 1970’s and the following government control in Cambodia kept prostitution to a low during its rule (although the rule did have a LOT of other flaws making life very difficult for the average Cambodian).

That’s an interesting way to frame it, no? You say genocide; I say effective prostitution control!

Snark aside, the post goes on to lay much of the blame for Cambodia’s prostitution problems at the feet of UNTAC, blame for which UNTAC is no doubt deserving. But in doing so ST also appears to buy into the relatively common myth that prostitution in Cambodia was uniquely an UNTAC creation, and that in the pre-war years prostitution simply did not exist. That’s just not true.

Khieu Samphan hires Vietnamese lawyer

Jacques Verges, a.k.a  Monsieur Guillotine because that’s were most of his clients tend to wind up, landed in Cambodia today on a mission to defend Khieu Samphan.

A French lawyer who defended terrorists and a former Nazi officer arrived in Cambodia on Monday to represent a former Khmer Rouge leader.

Jacques Verges declined to comment and only said “go to the court” before being whisked away in a car after his arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport.

Verges will join a Cambodian attorney to argue former Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan’s appeal against his pretrial detention.

If nothing else, Monsieur Guillotine should liven up the activities out in Kambol. Save for the odd “heart attack” alarm, the proceeding so far have been rather uneventful. Verges has made a name for himself by defending the planet’s most vile criminals, often by employing outrageous claims and his trademark “attack the prosecution” style.

There’s this, too.

From the moment of his birth in 1925, in Thailand, Vergès had experienced racial hatred firsthand. His father, Raymond Vergès, a French doctor and a diplomat, had lost his job because he married a Vietnamese woman, something Frenchmen were simply not allowed to do in those days.

Boy, is he in for a surprise.

Tourists, beggars flock to Chong Kneas

Cambodian government officials often say that tourism is key to the country’s development. Surely this is not what they mean.

Thousands of tourists visiting Cambodia’s famous floating village have unwittingly spawned a new problem – floating beggars, local media reported Monday. Chong Kneas village has become a popular side trip from the tourist town of Siem Reap, 300 kilometres north of the capital, and authorities are desperate to stem the flow of intrepid beggars that have accompanied the boom, Koh Santepheap daily newspaper said.

The newspaper reported the panhandlers come by outboard, row boat and even propel themselves in plastic buckets and bathtubs to crowd cruise boats and solicit tourist cash, and it is beginning to damage the tourist industry.

[...]

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the problem had become so severe that the issue would be discussed at a regional meeting on Siem Reap tourism issues in a fortnight.

As anecdotal evidence goes, this is a pretty good example of just how useless the Cambodian government can be. It cannot provide jobs for its citizens, so its citizens turn to begging. When the beggars start harassing the tourists, the police don’t have the resources to do their jobs — which in this case is to enforce panhandling laws — because the poverty-struck government cannot provide police departments with anything more than a few pencils and a smile.

Meanwhile, in two weeks time, those same government officials will drive their fancy Lexuses to some tacky 4-star resort in Siem Reap, gather around in the freezing air-con and stare blankly at each other wondering what the problem is, no doubt cursing the Chong Kneas beggars for having the temerity to make problems for the important people.

There ought to be a law.

UPDATE: Not just any beggars, Vietnamese beggars. Now it’s real problem.

Sokimex boss chastised for being proud of his ethnicity

VIA The Mirror: Moneaksekar Khmer sees how low it can sink in the space of a single story.

“Previously, many people said that Sok Kong, the president of the Sokimex Company, is a Yuon [Vietnamese] and a former Yuon expert, but Sok Kong had always denied this. However, recently readers of a Yuon newspaper found that Sok Kong told Viet Bao [Việt Báo], published on the Internet, that he is very proud to be born as a Yuon. The Yuon newspaper Viet Bao, is published on the Internet since 2004, but not many people here knew it. Just recently, readers of this Yuon newspaper, who can read and write Yuon, translated an article into Khmer and English, and posted it on the Internet worldwide.

“Khmer nationals who can read and write Yuon, if they want to read the newspaper which published that Sok Kong is proud to be born as a Yuon, can go to this web site:

http://vietbao.vn/the-gioi/tio-la-nguoi-viet-nam/40056609/159

Revolting. And not just because the word “Youn” appears 36 times in a single story. You could use the word “Vietnamese” instead and it would still be the same repugnant garbage.

Such truculent racism from the political opposition, however, is nothing new. What’s striking is that The Mirror appears happy to play along. The Mirror translated every other word of the story into English, but for some inexplicable reason it decided to leave this one racially supercharged word untranslated. The question is why? Was it mere editorial oversight, or something more sinister?

Miss Landmine Cambodia, 2009

What could be sexier?

Cambodia will play host to Miss Landmine 2009, the controversial beauty pageant’s Norwegian organizer said Sunday.

Miss Landmine parades beautiful female amputee landmine victims on the catwalk as they compete to win prosthetic limbs.

The idea, of course, is to raise awareness about the devastating effects of land mines. But such a campaign in Cambodia seems terribly misplaced. Cambodians hardly need reminding about the dangers or prevalence of land mines.

A better strategy might be public-awareness campaigns in countries that manufacture land mines. The only way to guarantee that land mines stop maiming people is to stop making them.

UPDATE: The Guardian has more.

A nude photo to die for

Lord Nazh over at The Daily Ramble weighs in on Dr Beat Richner’s decision to turn down a $91,000 donation to his children’s hospital because the money came from the sale of a nude photograph.

I don’t know about you, but letting someone potentially die (healthcare isn’t that good in Cambodia or the good Swedish doctor wouldn’t be needing money to run a clinic) because of ‘respect’ isn’t my idea of a good thing. Morals are what keep us sailing the straight and narrow or whatever floats your boat, but personal morals shouldn’t get in the way of healing kids. There are people who I admire that would argue with me on that point and to them I’d like to say, show me. Show me the child that has to die to assuage your morals.

Khmer New Year

Phnom Penh Post contributing author Sebastian Strangio has a blog. Here he is on Khmer New Year.

Khmer New Year and the stifling heat of mid-April have conspired to cast a smothering blanket over Phnom Penh. Just about everything is shut: even the roadside barbers have folded up their chairs, unhooked their mirrors, and scattered back to the provinces to pursue the cycle of binge-eating, Buddhist offerings and family activities that marks the nation’s main annual holiday. At the height of noon, the park on Sothearos Boulevard is an empty expanse of rippling heat-mirages crowned with palms, mobile towers and the needle-points of Buddhist stupas. The streets nearby hum with sparse, listless traffic.

It’s good stuff.

Police Blotter, RIP

Gone are the days of the grammatically mangled yet infinitely readable Phnom Penh Post Police Blotter. It’s not immediately clear whether this sad demise is the result of the blotter’s longtime author Aun Peap leaving the Post, or indicative of the Post’s new directions in seriousness. Either way, the new Blotter lacks the very charm that made the old Blotter such a town favorite.

It’s hard not to wonder if other idiosyncrasies of the Post — the Gecko column, for one, anxiety blanket adverts for your pet cat, another — will be unofficially retired as well.

This does not cut it.

April 3: A man was detained and arrested at Calmette hospital in Phnom Penh for allegedly stealing a mobile phone from a patient’s room. The suspected thief was Nop Tuo, 23, the victim Men Phalla, 52, and the mobile phone a Motorola V31, age unknown.

Motorola V31, age unknown. Ha ha. That’s so funny I forgot to laugh.

Rice: US$1,000 per ton

Rice traders say panic buying has set in.

Rice prices hit the $1,000-a-tonne level for the first time on Thursday as panicking importers scrambled to secure supplies, exacerbating the tightness already provoked by export restrictions in Vietnam, India, Egypt, China and Cambodia.

[...]

Vichai Sriprasert, president of Riceland International, a leading rice exporter in Bangkok, said several of its customers, including governments, were buying far more than they usually did amid fears about scarcity.

“It is panic,” he said. “My customers are demanding double the usual volume. We would not have enough supplies for all the demand we are facing.”

Fuel for your paranoia

The commie’s next door will get a brand new communications satellite today.

The VINASAT-1 communications satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin for Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) of Vietnam, is ready for launch on April 18 aboard an Ariane 5-ECA launch vehicle provided by Arianespace.

[...]

The turnkey satellite system is expected to improve telecommunications in Vietnam by transmitting radio, television and telephone communications to all corners of the country. The spacecraft will enable state-of-the-art communications, providing the Vietnamese people the opportunity to use multiple new services such as mobile broadcasting, direct-to-home television, video conferencing and data transmission. In addition, VINASAT-1 will improve the nation’s communication networks infrastructure by removing dependence on ground networks and allowing 100% of Vietnam’s rural communities to be equipped with telephones and televisions.

And with much of the country’s communications data passing through one location, easy spying opportunities. Conspiracy theorists take note.

Hun Sen vs Chea Sim

VIA KI: Moneaksekar Khmer passes on the latest from the CPP rumor mill.

Previously Hun Sen wanted to have Neang Phat replace Tea Banh as Defense Minister and Kun Kim as armed forces Supreme Commander. However, if such an arrangement was made Hun Sen would have total control of the armed forces and Chea Sim would then be even more meaningless than now when he is already meaningless. Therefore, the party elders urged both sides to exchange positions between Ke Kimyan and Kun Kim, for Hun Sen wanted Kun Kim to replace Ke Kimyan as armed forces Supreme Commander while Chea Sim wanted Ke Kimyan to replace Tea Banh as Defense Minister.

As always, there’s no telling how much truth there is in the gossip. Moneaksekar Khmer is not exactly known for its evenhanded journalism. Nor should it come as any surprise that different factions in the CPP have different agendas. Still, Hun Sen consolidating power through deft political appointments is not exactly wingnut territory either.

Hun Sen already controls the Military Police through Sao Sokha and the National Police through Hok Lundy.

A Hun Sen appointment to either the Minister of Defense or RCAF Commander-in-Chief would mark a substantial consolidation over the country’s internal power structure; an appointment to both would entrench Hun Sen with unassailable power.

Know your rights

All three of them.

1. A fine issued without a receipt is corruption. Drivers must always remember to ask for a receipt from traffic police officers whenever they are fined.
2. Drivers should wait to obtain receipt for a fine when they have committed faults and fined by traffic police officers.
3. Asking for a receipt for fines can contribute to reducing corruption in the implementation of traffic law.

Cambodia: headline news

French navy ship arrives in Cambodia for visit [Xinhua]

Rice crisis and Southeast Asia [UPI]

Cambodia rejects new Thai protest over Preah Vihear temple [Xinhua]

Cambodian activist who rescues sex slaves wins World’s Children’s Prize [AP]