The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “Sales of large home appliances rise 20 pct” plus 9 more

Cambodian consumer spending on major domestic appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines and microwave ovens, saw a roughly 22 per cent year-on-year increase over the first six months of 2013, according to Germany-based research institute GfK.

The rise comes alongside a 20 per cent growth in volume terms and a 22 per cent increase in total dollar value in Southeast Asia, where nearly 11.5 million large appliances were sold, generating $3.4 billion.

The countries surveyed were Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Hor Hab, Cambodia representative of South Korea-based LG, said that Cambodia's "rising living standard and an increase in new houses being built" translated to an increase in sales of air conditioners and washing machines. But he said it was still limited to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, as a lack of grid connection and sufficient power in remote areas impeded sales of electronics.

NGO officials using their vehicles to take protest materials is illegal.

Villagers in Ratanakkiri briefly blocked a national road yesterday, after detaining three rubber plantation workers, to call for intervention in their long-standing land dispute with a Chinese company.

On Friday, 35 villagers from Bakeo and O'Chum districts halted an excavator and detained a man working for Swift Rubber Limited, which was granted an economic land concession that villagers forced from the land claim is illegal.

The worker was held overnight in the home of a villager, before being turned over to police on Saturday. He was later released.

"We agreed to free the driver, but the machinery was impounded [by police]," said Khoem Sok, a representative of 30 families who are locked in the dispute. Many of the families have lived on the contested 168 hectares since 1988, Sok said.

In late March, the court issued an injunction ordering the company to stop clearing – but it has since razed several plots of land to clear the area for a rubber plantation.

After the group handed the worker to the police, the company promised to halt work.

But yesterday a couple arrived to work on the land on behalf of the company. Villagers took both into "custody" and gave them to police who took them in for questioning.

"He admitted he is a worker but said they knew nothing and just followed the company's orders," villager Chum Joy said.

Ngen Borin, a company representative, said they were considering filing complaints against the villagers for the illegal detention.

"We are taking action for releasing our workers, and we will ask the authorities and related ministries to find justice for us," he said.

O'Chum District Governor Sak Sun said the villagers had been living on state land and that the rubber company had occupied the area for decades.

"The Chinese company's workers go to collect rubber very often. It's only now that the people catch them – I am suggesting that my superiors find a resolution."

Provincial police chief Ra Ray and his deputy Phen Dyna declined to comment.

The Japanese Embassy yesterday stated unequivocally that Japan would not "provide funds to the national side of the budget, directly or indirectly", refuting an earlier statement to that effect by the Cambodian government following a meeting to discuss funding for the tribunal.

A government spokesman on Tuesday said that Japan had agreed to divert some of its donations from the court's UN-backed side to its cash-strapped national side, where more than 130 staff are striking over unpaid wages.

However, yesterday's embassy statement refuted that, saying "it is the obligation of the Cambodian government to pay to the national side of the budget".

"However, Ambassador [Yuji] Kumamaru mentioned that the Government of Japan is considering if it can provide a part of the Japanese contribution to the international side earlier than originally scheduled in order to alleviate the current situation."

The trial of a 34-year-old French national accused of distributing pornographic images of a bar girl and threatening to post them online last year began yesterday at Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

Frederic Gonzales was employed as a private English teacher in the capital when he was arrested by officers from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Unit on October 23 for allegedly distributing images of a 20-year-old Vietnamese national working at the Martini Pub in Chamkarmon district's Boeung Keng Kang II commune.

Suos Sam Ath, a judge at the court, said Gonzales was facing two charges: threatening the girl and distributing pornographic images.

"He had sex with the victim many times and threatened to post the pictures online if she didn't continue to have sex with him as he wanted," Suos said.

The woman told the court yesterday that Gonzales photographed her in her rental house in Meanchey district's Chbar Ampov II commune and distributed the images in front of her home. Along with threats to post the images online, "he also forced me to smoke drugs with him", she told the court, requesting the accused be fined $2,000. Frederic denied all accusations leveled against him but did confess to taking the pornographic images, claiming they were for himself rather than public distribution.

"She was my girlfriend, and we both had been in love with each other many months ago. I did not force her to have sex with me," he said, adding he wanted the images for himself when he was older, and asking that the court drop all charges.

A verdict is expected on September 12.

The gap between Cambodia's health rich and health poor is "devastating", according to a report by World Vision issued yesterday.

Cambodia is ranked 124 out of 176 countries on the global index based on four indicators used to measure the gap in each listed country: life expectancy, out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, coverage of health services and adolescent fertility rates.

"It's a horrifying reality that in today's world, when we have all the knowledge, resources and tools to provide quality maternal, newborn and child health for all, that so many children continue to pay the price for the great gap in global health, with their lives," said Andrew Hassett, World Vision's international campaign director.

The aid agency homed in on the Kingdom's 40 per cent malnutrition rate, presented as the crux of the nation's health problem.

Cambodia's gap is exacerbated by many factors, including extreme income inequality, lacklustre social security and high out-of-pocket healthcare spending, but malnutrition remains a standalone issue.

Dr Vesana Kiri, director of planning and health information systems at the Ministry of Health, initially declined to comment and then pointed to the Kingdom's progression in addressing child health.

"We've expanded coverage by focusing on scaling up obstetric care, looking at increasing access in rural areas and focusing on training more community-level health workers," Kiri said.

But if Cambodia is to meet the Millennium Development Goals by the two-year deadline, addressing the country's alarmingly high rates of malnutrition must be prioritised now, according to the report.

"Focusing on reducing malnutrition could be a progressive means of also shedding light on important chronic diseases that often receive less attention from donors," said Sin Somuny, executive director of health NGO Medicam.

Nearly 50 workers, including a woman who is seven months pregnant, fainted at a clothing factory in Phnom Penh's Por Sen Chey district yesterday due to poor ventilation, union officials and labour-rights groups said.

The 47 employees at Wanshen Clothing (Cambodia) Co collapsed at about 3pm, said Thol Norn, president of Cambodia Federation Labor Movement. They were treated at three local private hospitals.

"The collapses occurred when fans stopped working," Norn said.

Company officials were aware of the ventilation problem when two women initially fainted, but took no steps to protect workers, said Chhorn Sokha, a workers' rights program officer at Community Legal Education Center.

"They should have told [workers] to leave the building so that they could check the surrounding environment," Sokha said.

After the faintings, workers were allowed to go home and return today, said Pok Vanthat, director of the labour health department at the Ministry of Labour.

A toddler has become the 18th confirmed case of avian influenza this year, the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization announced yesterday.

The 15-month-old from Phnom Penh's Russey Keo district developed a fever on August 16 and a week later was transferred from private care to Kantha Bopha hospital. On Friday, lab results confirmed he had contracted H5N1.

According to the statement issued yesterday, the boy remains in stable condition after having been treated with Tamiflu on August 27.

Though only 39 people have contracted H5N1 in Cambodia since the virus was first detected in 2004, it has proven highly fatal. Of the 18 people to contract the virus so far this year, 12 have died.

The Health Ministry is conducting investigations and public health lessons in the boy's home village, and urged people to "take special care'' that their children avoid contact with birds and with areas where they are kept.

This year's wedding season kicked off with cake and cocktails as Sofitel hosted its second luxury wedding exhibition last weekend.

Ahead of the annual wedding season, which comes into full force in November, when wedding tents pop up all over the country, the free fair featured international and local designers, florists, catering companies and more.

On display were bridal wear and menswear as well as jewellery, table decorations, flowers, cupcakes and massage treatments, while Cambodian models walked the runway in fluffy white dresses and romantic music resounded through the room.

But the other star of this year's event, according to both organisers and attendees, was the person who is usually in the shadows: the wedding planner.

Wedding planning is a new concept in Cambodia, where the matrimonial ceremony can be a complex affair.

Ceremonies, which traditionally run over three days, involve multiple outfits – sometimes as many as a dozen for the bride and groom – as well as costly pre-wedding photography services and elaborate make-up.

Having one person to organise it all, then, can be a boon.

Speaking at the wedding fair, Kong Sophany, who helped arrange the exhibition, said: "Couples will find it easy to plan their wedding as they have a collection of wedding planners here and don't need to do research in different places to prepare, as before."

Dadana wedding planning company is one of several based in Phnom Penh to offer the service and was invited to the fair.

The owner, Thai Sochanna, said her company can plan any type of event, from business parties to birthdays, but weddings are the most popular. Everything is included: from flower arrangement to food.

The price is usually upwards of $1,000.
"It is very difficult and takes a long time to plan because couples want everything to be perfect for their wedding," Sochanna said.

Both Cambodians and foreigners attended the event, which was held in the hotel's ballroom.

One Cambodian couple, perusing the wedding decoration table, said they were happy to see all the dresses, gifts and flowers.

They will marry in January next year and came to the wedding event find decorations.

"Now I've got more contacts and am sure to have them planning my wedding," said the guest, who wanted to keep her identity private.

This year's fair was the second organised by Sofitel. The first, in 2011, featured only international wedding planners, according to Sophany.

Designers resident in Cambodia were pleased to be included this year.

One of them was Jean-Benoît Lasselin, owner of colorblind, which exports wedding suits around the world to cities from Beijing to Bangkok and Paris.

He said: "I am very happy to meet the public during the exhibition. It allows me to show what I can do, the suits of my brand, and to show I would like to be a part of Cambodian society."

Post sports reporter HS Manjunath shines a spotlight on Cambodia's national tennis team bound for Dubai and the Davis Cup's Asia-Oceania Group III stage, which hits off next Wednesday at the Aviation Tennis Club.

Tep Rithivit

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Son of legendary Tep Khunah, who is regarded as the father of Cambodian tennis, Rithivit spent his formative years in Canada and France after leaving Phnom Penh at the age of 10.

His promising junior tennis career came to a premature end before he was 17. After working a few odd jobs, he pursued real estate with great success while acquiring business administration skills and advanced academic knowledge.

Rithivit returned to Cambodia in 1993 from Canada and assumed charge as the secretary-general of the Tennis Federation in the mid '90s, bringing about a spectacular swing in the Kingdom's tennis fortunes.

At 51, his zest for tennis puts to shame some of today's junior prospects. He currently heads one of Cambodia's most trusted investment firms, Devenco.

Rithivit led Cambodia to a stunning success in the teams debut as the non-playing captain in Doha last year, when the Kingdom was unbeaten in five ties to earn promotion to Group III.

Bun Kenny

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Bun Kenny, a 23-year-old right-hander, joined the Cambodian national team in 2009. He has nine ATP points, six of which came last year.

Kenny has won several local tournaments and was the winner of the Tanimex Cup in Ho Chi Minh City last year. He has taken part in nearly 20 Futures events in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, China, India, Indonesia and Malaysia, and led Cambodia to its first team bronze medal in the SEA Games in Indonesia two years ago.

Kenny also represented Cambodia in the 2009 SEA Games in Vientiane and the 2011 Asian Games in Guangzhou.

In Cambodia's successful Group IV campaign in Doha, he won all his five singles rubbers and also a couple of doubles matches.

Mam Panhara

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Oregon-based American-Cambodian Mam Panhara is a talented right-hander in his mid-20s. Like Bun Kenny, he won all his singles rubbers in Doha last year and showed his prowess as a doubles player as well.

Panhara has impressive college tennis credentials in the United States. He was Oregon University No 1 for four years in a row, but took a break from competitive tennis to pursue a career in teaching.

An exciting prospect to watch, Panhara joined the team last Friday.

Mam Phalkun

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The eldest of the Mam brothers, Phalkun makes his Davis Cup debut, interestingly as a replacement for his youngest brother Vetu, who was part of the Kingdom's winning team in Doha but could not make it this time due to personal reasons.

The 28-year-old's record in college tennis, playing for Washington University, had been an impressive one.

He has been pursuing a teaching career back in Portland but is likely to take up a job with the Tennis Federation of Cambodia after his return from Dubai.

If they end up playing a Davis Cup doubles rubber together, Phalkun and Panhara will join the ivy league of brother pairs like the Amrithrajas (Vijay and Anand), Gulliksons (Tim and Tom), Murrays (Andy and Jamie) and the Bryans (Bob and Mike) to name just a few.

More significantly, the Mams may also set a new standard in the Davis Cup with all three of them playing for their country.

Long Samneang

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As the youngest member of the team, Samneang, who turns 18 on Sunday, earned some useful experience travelling to Doha last year.

He has been showing promise in local tournaments and was part of the Cambodian team that won the SEA Games bronze medal in Indonesia last year.

He may continue to warm the bench again, but sharing Davis Cup experience could greatly benefit his confidence and career.

Braen Aneiros

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Cuban-born Panamanian Davis Cupper Braen Aneiros has been a great asset to Cambodian tennis as the head coach and technical director of the Tennis Federation of Cambodia.

Directing a team of eight to 10 assistants, Aneiros, who is in his 30s, has played a key role in revitalising Cambodian tennis.

He has produced amazing results from his junior tennis initiatives and is a key component in all of the TFC's developmental projects.

Under Aneiros' watchful eyes, the Cambodian national team performed well beyond expectations by staying unbeaten in Doha.