Virtual Sam Rainsy Slapped With Actual Fine
The Provincial Election Committee (PEC) on Monday fined opposition leader Sam Rainsy $2,500 for verbally attacking Prime Minister Hun Sen from afar during a video-link speech beamed to supporters in Phnom Penh, officials said yesterday. Mr. Rainsy, who currently lives in self-imposed exile in Paris, was found to have violated Article 178 of the Commune Election Law, which prohibits the use of “insulting words.” During a live-streaming videoconference held in Phnom Penh on June 1, Mr. Rainsy can be heard saying “the government led by Prime Minister Hun Sen is a dictatorship,” said Lon Chheng Kai, director of the Phnom Penh municipal election committee. …
