Law and judiciary
Labor leaders request changes to draft Law on Unions
Union leaders have sent a request to the Ministry of Labor to make changes in a draft law to regulate unions, which experts say could be used to severely limit the freedom of assembly for workers. Earlier this month, some 200 union members met to ...
Phorn Bopha
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/labor-leaders-request-changes-to-draft-law-on-unions/2875739.html
Senate passes NGO law amid boycott
Cambodia’s Senate today gave its expected approval to the controversial law on associations and non-governmental organisations (LANGO), amid street protests and a boycott from opposition representatives.All 44 Cambodia People’s Party senators present voted unanimously to endorse the draft legislation, which will next week head to ...
Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/senate-passes-ngo-law-amid-boycott
A prisoner’s heartbreak
Holding her husband’s hand through prison bars yesterday, Tith Narin delivered the heartbreaking news – their eldest son was dead.Narin’s husband, Ouk Pich Samnang, was one of 11 Cambodia National Rescue Party activists convicted on Tuesday for his alleged role in a protest that turned ...
Chhay Channyda and Alice Cuddy
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/prisoners-heartbreak
Cambodian opposition party leader decries sentences as act of repression
The leader of Cambodia’s opposition party on Thursday denounced the conviction and sentencing of 11 party activists to prison terms of up to 20 years for participating in a protest that turned violent as a “brutal act of repression.” ...
RFA Khmer News Staff
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/opposition-party-leader-decries-sentences-as-act-of-repression-07232015161915.html
No side deals, says Sasa’s dad
After appearing in court yesterday, the father of Ek Socheata, a local TV presenter better known as Ms Sasa, confirmed he would reject compensation from Sok Bun if it meant the tycoon would escape charges for viciously assaulting his daughter earlier this month. ...
Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/no-side-deals-says-sasas-dad
Release of French Pedophile sparks outrage
This month’s early release of convicted French pedophile Philipe Broaly – despite ongoing court appeals – is an insult to victims and a huge step backwards for child protection in Cambodia, multiple NGOs have warned. ...
Jack Laurenson
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/13589/release-of-french-pedophile-sparks-outrage/
Ex-Takhmao police chief confesses to dealing meth
The former chief of police in Kandal province’s Takhmao City on Wednesday confessed that he had become a drug dealer after he was arrested on Tuesday in possession of 13 small packages of crystal methamphetamine, officials said. ...
Saing Soenthrith
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ex-takhmao-police-chief-confesses-to-dealing-meth-89258/
Hundreds demonstrate against pending NGO law in provinces
Hundreds of people gathered in provinces around the country Wednesday to demonstrate against a pending NGO law that opponents fear will be used to muzzle groups that criticize the ruling CPP. ...
Mech Dara
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hundreds-demonstrate-against-pending-ngo-law-in-provinces-89254/
Laotian meth smuggler arrested in Stung Treng
A Laotian man was arrested in Stung Treng province on Tuesday after crossing into Cambodia with nearly a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine, a police official said Wednesday. ...
Saing Soenthrith
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/laotian-meth-smuggler-arrested-in-stung-treng-89274/
Vendors meet with city over construction fears
About 500 vendors from Phnom Penh’s Phsar Doeum Kor market on Wednesday gathered at City Hall to protest plans to demolish and rebuild the wholesale hub, worried that they will lose their stalls and be forced to purchase new ones. ...
Buth Kimsay
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/vendors-meet-with-city-over-construction-fears-89276/
Cambodian opposition party senators refuse to debate NGO draft law
Senators from Cambodia’s opposition party will not participate in a debate on controversial legislation passed by the lower house of parliament earlier this month on the regulation of nongovernmental organizations that operate in the developing country, an opposition Senate lawmaker said. ...
RFA Khmer News Staff
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/opposition-party-senators-refuse-to-participate-in-ngo-draft-law-debate-07222015162125.html
City mulling midnight curfew for clubs, bars
At midnight in some parts of Phnom Penh, the party is just getting started.But on Monday, City Hall said it was considering ordering all businesses that serve alcohol to close their doors by 12 a.m. to reduce fatal traffic accidents caused by drunk drivers. ...
Kang Sothear
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/city-mulling-midnight-curfew-for-clubs-bars-89119/
Poipet checkpoint customs chief to be replaced
The head of customs at the Poipet International Checkpoint, the site of numerous recent protests by handcart-pullers complaining of arbitrary fees for transporting goods across the border, will be replaced Wednesday, according to the Banteay Meanchey provincial customs chief. ...
Saing Soenthrith
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/poipet-checkpoint-customs-chief-to-be-replaced-89115/
Facebook battle over NGO law
The National Assembly may have approved the contentious Law on Associations and NGOs (LANGO), but some young people are still urging the government to scrap it. ...
Chea Takihiro
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/13552/facebook-battle-over-ngo-law/
Parking attendants leery of automation
A pilot project to create the first-ever mechanical toll-parking system in the Cambodian capital has sparked concern among the city’s freelance parking attendants, who eke out a living on the tips they receive from helping drivers find space to park their car. ...
Un Raksmey
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/13530/parking-attendants-leery-of-automation/
District police chief denies raping student
A district police chief in Kompong Chhnang province was on Tuesday questioned over accusations that he raped a high-school student in his office earlier this month and threatened to kill the woman’s family if she told anyone about the assault. ...
Huot Chanpav
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/district-police-chief-denies-raping-high-school-student-89111/
Interpol assists hunt for alleged drug kingpin
A Cambodian man has been put on Interpol’s most-wanted list and is thought to be hiding in Laos or Burma after evading police last month when they attempted to arrest him for allegedly leading a multi million-dollar international drug smuggling ring, officials said Tuesday. ...
Chris Mueller and Mech Dara
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/interpol-assists-hunt-for-alleged-drug-kingpin-89124/
Farmer arrested for fighting police officers
Police in Kratie province on Sunday arrested a farmer—accused of trying to squat on a new social land concession for poor families—after he allegedly struck the officers when they arrived to tell him and his wife to leave. ...
Aun Pheap
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/farmer-arrested-for-fighting-police-officers-89122/
Cambodian court sentences opposition party activists on ‘insurrection charges’
A Cambodian court on Tuesday sentenced 11 opposition party activists to prison terms of up to 20 years on insurrection charges for participating in a protest that turned violent, prompting the defendants’ lawyers and rights groups to denounce the harsh penalties. ...
Morm Moniroth
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/court-sentences-opposition-party-activists-on-insurrection-charges-07212015164619.html
Ex-commune chief admits to planning murder
During his trial at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday, a former commune chief in Prek Pnov district admitted to organizing the murder of a political rival, who survived the subsequent grenade attack that claimed the life of his 11-year-old son. ...
Ouch Sony
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ex-commune-chief-admits-to-planning-murder-88991/
Court to fast-track trial of ‘insurrectionists’
A year after a protest at Freedom Park that turned violent and was labeled an attempted insurrection, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday announced that it would fast-track the trial of 11 men arrested in its aftermath and ordered them not to leave the ...
Khy Sovuthy
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/court-to-fast-track-trial-of-insurrectionists-88993/
Opposition leader threatens to play American card
Meach Sovannara, lead spokesman for the opposition, threatened to play the American card if the Municipal Court does not drop its investigation of him for his role in violent protests at Freedom Park last year. ...
Chea Takihiro and Pav Suy
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/13505/opposition-leader-threatens-to-play-american-card/
UDG security guard found guilty over 2014 violent attack
A security guard hired by the Union Development Group, a Chinese firm building a $3.8-billion tourist mecca in a remote coastal area of Koh Kong province, was on Monday handed a one-year suspended sentence for punching a local woman in the face last year, according ...
Khuon Narim
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/udg-security-guard-found-guilty-over-2014-violent-attack-89000/
Authorities in Svay Rieng won’t talk about thugs at border
Svay Rieng provincial authorities refused to take responsibility Monday for a group of thugs armed with wooden clubs who worked together with police and soldiers on Sunday to prevent a group of nationalist activists from visiting a post demarcating the eastern border with Vietnam. ...
Mech Dara
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/authorities-in-svay-rieng-wont-talk-about-thugs-at-border-89004/