The Phnom Penh Post
Critics dismiss Hun Sen’s pledge as empty promises
Prime Minister Hun Sen made a bold pledge to the hundreds of thousands of Cambodian villagers fighting companies for their homes yesterday, ordering that in every economic land concession across the country, space must be provided for those they would displace. But last month’s royal book ...
US calls for release of Boeung Kak activists
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged the Cambodian government to release 13 Boeung Kak lake women imprisoned after a three-hour trial last month, telling Foreign Minister Hor Namhong at a meeting in Washington that such a move would support freedom of expression. “The secretary ...
Kratie conspiracy: Rebels are still being hunted: PM
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday expressed his condolences for the family of a 14-year-old girl shot dead by government security forces in Kratie last month, but stopped short of calling for an investigation. ...
Migrant abuse trending up
Human rights group Adhoc released a report on the state of Cambodian migrant workers yesterday, saying that tales of abuse from migrant workers and their families have increased five-fold compared to the same period last year. Seventy per cent of this year’s 141 complaints concerned domestic ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012061556814/National-news/migrant-abuse-trending-up.html
Witness duo no-show amid safety concerns
Two witnesses to the Bavet town factory shooting in February failed to show up at Svay Rieng Provincial Court yesterday despite being summoned by an investigating judge, with one citing fears for his safety. Sok Vuthy, a 28 year-old worker, told the Post yesterday that he ...
Migrants stuffed into two homes
More than 100 Cambodian migrant workers were discovered in rented houses this week near Rong Kleu market in Thailand’s Sakaeo province, officials said yesterday. Banteay Meanchey provincial spokesman Ouk Keo Ratanak said Thai authorites found the workers on Wednesday crammed into two houses, and sent them ...
Cambodia takes $430m China loan
Cambodia yesterday signed deals for about US$430 million in loans from China, the latest in a number of high-profile borrowing deals with its northern neighbour. The bulk of the loans, from Export-Import Bank of China, would go towards two national road projects and a multipurpose dam ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012061456790/Business/cambodia-takes-430m-china-loan.html
Telcos still vie for subscribers
The battle for subscriber numbers rages on in the still-clustered Cambodian mobile market. Smart Mobile this week announced it passed the 3 million-subscriber mark, which would make it Cambodia’s second-largest operator by subscriber numbers after Vietnam’s Metfone. Numbers obtained by the Post showed Cellcard with a consecutive ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012061456789/Business/telcos-still-vie-for-subscribers.html
After brawl, workers can go
Cambodian workers seeking to leave a seafood factory in Thailand following a lethal brawl with counterparts from Myanmar were given their passports and salaries on Monday, a representative said. Phon Jam said 800 Cambodian workers at the Siam International Food Co Ltd factory in Songkhla province ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012061456796/National-news/after-brawl-workers-can-go.html
Boeung Kak 13 case shifts to Appeal Court
The case of the 13 imprisoned Boeung Kak women is in the hands of the Appeal Court now, the women’s defence lawyer said yesterday. Lawyer Harm Sunrith said that Phnom Penh Municipal Court had sent the case to the Appeal Court on Tuesday, adding that he ...
Maids’ families seek answers
The families of six maids from Kampong Chhnang province who left to work in Malaysia have filed complaints with human rights group Adhoc after losing contact with the women for more than two years, rights workers said yesterday. Soum Chankea, Adhoc’s provincial co-ordinator, said the complaints ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012061456795/National-news/maids-families-seek-answers.html
Chut Wutty slaying witness questioned
Another witness to the fatal shootings of environmental activist Chut Wutty and military police officer In Rattana was questioned at Koh Kong Provincial Court yesterday. Bou Orn is the third employee of logging company Timbergreen – a firm Chut Wutty was investigating for alleged illegal logging ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012061456797/National-news/shooting-witness-questioned.html
Mobile dating finds Cambodia
A new mobile dating and networking service called Chibi, designed to be used by even rural Cambodians, has made an agreement with Smart Mobile to enable anyone with a mobile phone to inexpensively meet and send messages to potential love interests. Australian David Wilkie and his ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012061456788/Business/mobile-dating-finds-cambodia.html
Families file complaint about bulldozed houses
Seventeen villagers from Banteay Meanchey province’s O’Chrou district filed a complaint yesterday with the rights group Adhoc after their homes were allegedly unlawfully bulldozed in June last year. ...
Ministry eyes Boeung Kak sentence
The Ministry of Justice has called on the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to re-examine whether the decision to sentence 13 Boeung Kak women to two and a half years in jail was just, according to a letter obtained by the Post yesterday. The letter was ...
China may fund Cambodia-Vietnam rail
Cambodia was in discussions with the Chinese government on funding for a 250-kilometre stretch of rail line between Phnom Penh and Vietnam, in what Cambodian officials yesterday called a move away from a “complicated” Asian Development Bank loan. Va Sim Sorya, director general at the Ministry ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012061356758/Business/china-to-fund-cambodia-rail.html
Koh Kong dispute gets fresh hearing
The Koh Kong Provincial Court summonsed 23 villagers from Chikor Leu commune to present themselves – and any relevant documents – at a July 12 hearing with representatives of the two sugar companies that bulldozed their farmland and evicted them from their homes in 2006. ...
Integration for ASEAN legal eagles discussed
More than 70 judges and judicial officials from ASEAN member states attended a US-supported ASEAN workshop in Phnom Penh yesterday to discuss legal and judicial cooperation, the protection of investors and the state of the rule of law in the region. ...
Maids to Saudi Arabia denied
Both the government and the Association of Cambodian Recruitment Agencies yesterday denied media reports that Cambodia and Vietnam will provide domestic workers to Saudi Arabia. Citing Saudi Arabian newspapers, the news website Emirates 24/7 reported yesterday that Cambodia and Vietnam had agreed to send maids to ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012061356764/National-news/maids-to-saudi-arabia-denied.html
Garment workers back to table for more talks
The workers and management of the Chiang Sou undergarments factory in Kampong Speu failed to reach a resolution yesterday despite hours of attempted negotiations, only a day after nearly 200 employees went on strike demanding better working conditions. ...
Koh Pich hopes gem fair shines
The five-day Cambodia Gems & Jewelry Fair (CGJF) will kick off on June 14 at the Diamond Island (Koh Pich) Exhibition Centre and will be hosted by the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce in association with Hong Kong’s World Trade Fair Ltd. the CGJF has attracted companies ...
Banks see growth in Q1
Loans and deposits at Cambodia’s 31 commercial banks grew 35 per cent and 25 per cent respectively during the first quarter of the year on what insiders called increased soundness in the Kingdom’s financial sector. Outstanding loans at the end of March hit US$4.6 billion, according ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012061256735/Business/banks-see-growth-in-q1.html
Report slams Boeung Kak 13 sentencing
The 13 Boeung Kak lake women imprisoned after a three-hour trial on May 24 were tried unjustly on charges that had no basis, according to a Cambodian Center for Human Rights report released yesterday. Ou Virak said the women’s sentencing, which came two days after ...
Swiss doctor calls for more help to stay afloat
On vibrantly patterned straw mats, crowded around small plastic hampers of food, children – some with balloons, others with neon-coloured fans – huddle against their parents under the noon sun. But the parents are unblinking; some of the children barely have a pulse. Families have travelled up ...