The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “Far too many rights” plus 9 more

The government did not silence your rights, and nowadays you have far too many rights; the government is always creating happiness and security.

The Prey Lang Community Network of anti-logging activists announced yesterday that late last month it had accepted the Alexander Soros Foundation's $25,000 Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Environmental and Human Rights Activism on behalf of slain environmental crusader Chut Wutty.

In a statement, PLCN said giving the grant to the network "represents the best way to make sure Wutty's work is continued".

Speaking to reporters yesterday, PLCN representative Hoeun Sopheap said the award would help fund renewed patrols, adding that "forest crime has increased twofold" during recent political turmoil.

The Alexander Soros Foundation is a US-based organisation that promotes social justice, according to its website.

A delegation of 28 vovinam practitioners have been sent to Ho Chi Minh City for a eight-week training course ahead of participation at the 27th SEA Games in Myanmar in December.

The course, held thanks to cooperation between the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia and Vietnam, will see each athlete offered free accommodation, food and training from the Vietnamese authorities as well as 800,000 riel (US$197) from Cambodia's Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.

The breathtaking Bokor mountain, the crowning glory of Teuk Chhou district in Kampot province, provides an exciting and unique setting for the inaugural Thansur Bokor International Half Marathon and Bike Race on the weekend of October 26-27.

Organised by Thansur Bokor Hotel and Resorts, an affiliate of the renowned Sokha Hotel Group, with the active involvement of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, the half marathon affords international and local athletes a rare opportunity to explore the mystical beauty of the mountain while catching a glimpse of some 20th century architectural excellence.

"Part of the proceeds will go to charitable causes, notably Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital. Our motive is to promote sport tourism and protect nature [while] at the same time support Cambodian children," Thansur Bokor General Manager Michael Brabsche said at a media conference at the NOCC headquarters on Wednesday.

"With the Royal Government granting permission to the Sokha Group to build asphalt road from the foot of the mountain to the summit, visitors can now get access to amazing scenery combining a view of the sea, forestry and vegetation. This charity run on October 27 will be an unforgettable experience for participants," he added.

The first of its kind 21km hill run – along with 10km and 5km road races and a 3km fun run – assumes the added significance of becoming Cambodia's fourth international charity run following the illustrious examples of annual Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville events.

Around 500 runners have registered so far in various categories and the organisers expect that number to double by the registration deadline of October 23.

"The NOCC is happy that the country can now promote another international charity run. This is a big boost for sport tourism in the country, a sector which is a top priority for us," NOCC Secretary General Vath Chamroeun, who was recently promoted to under secretary of state at the Ministry of Tourism, told the Post.

Response from local and international bikers for the October 26 mountain climb, named the Preah Monivong Bokor Cycling Challenge, has also been encouraging.

Buoyed by the success of a similar event held on May 5, the biking community is agog with excitement and the organisers have put in place four different categories to cover men, women and children of all ages and riding skills.

An Elite class competition over 50km for men is open to experienced road bike riders while in open categories for veterans (40 and over) and other age groups, the riders have been given a choice between road and mountain bikes.

The women's event over 30km is expected to attract the country's top riders, some of whom will be representing Cambodia for the first time in the forthcoming Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar.

The winners in both the running and cycling events will receive trophies, medals and other prizes while every participant will get an event souvenir medal.

Online registration for both running and cycling can be done through www.thansurbokor.com/preah-monivong.bokor-marathon, on the official Facebook page (www.facebook.com/PreahMonivongBokorMarathon) or via www.instagram.com/preahmonivongbokormarathon#.

Registrations can also be made by phone with Sokha Club Hotel, Phnom Penh (023990123), Sokha Angkor Resort, Siem Reap (063969999), Sokha Beach Resort, Sihanouk Ville (034935999) and Thansur Bokor Highland Resort, Kampot (0336838888).

Dear Editor,

I write in response to yesterday's Phnom Penh Post article "Rainsy's Reasoning Questioned".

My position as an American-trained lawyer and Cambodian civil society leader aligns with that of Sam Rainsy's.

Like him, I am at once alarmed and bemused by the Cambodian People's Party's audacity and facility in violating clear provisions of the Constitution, the "supreme law of the land".

It would be outright hilarious if not for the possible acceptance of fait accompli (or, in CPP idiom, "the rice has been cooked") based on the false-but-residual perception of CPP's invincibility.

I notice that some Cambodians genuinely believe the law to be synonymous with justice, and equate it with being "official" and "the rice has been cooked" fail accompli mentality.

Let me categorically disabuse this thinking:

First, the law is manmade and open to error. The law can be, and here is often, used as a weapon against justice, where "For my friends, whatever they want; for my enemies, the law". There exists manifestly "unjust law", but we do not say, "unjust justice".

Second, what appears to be "official" or fait accompli is in reality subject to change if it manifestly violates the "supreme law of the land" and proves insupportable by the democratic process in a changing populous environment of the Cambodia Spring where citizens are the new fourth estate.

Both my observations address a misunderstanding and misinterpretation of statutes. An "expert" may have an opinion, but it must pass the "laugh" or absurdity test.

Basically, any interpretation of a written statute or legislation looks at the letter and spirit of the law.

Proper legal interpretation starts with the plain language of the statute to discover its original intent. That is to say, we discover the original intent of the law by looking at the words of the statute and apply their usual and ordinary meanings.

With the issue at hand, the Cambodian Constitution expressly, unambiguously, states: "The National Assembly consists of at least 120 members" (Art. 76).

Here, the presence of only 68 highly contested members from only one party simply fails to satisfy Article 76.

If, after looking at the language or "letter" of the Constitution, the meaning of the statute remains unclear, we divine the intent of the law by looking at the history, process and other sources. Generally, we disregard any interpretation that would create an absurd result which the original drafters and lawmakers did not intend.

Or, what one of my law professors posits: "Does it pass the laugh test?"

With the present political impasse, the issue is whether the sole presence of the CPP satisfy the Constitutional intent of "a multi-party liberal democratic regime guaranteeing human rights and the respect of law" (Preamble, Art. 51) of the Paris Peace Agreements whereby the international community pour an unprecedented US$2.4 billion and 24,000 UN berets into this democratic process?

The answer is an unequivocal, resounding NO!

We can call the current National Assembly and the government whatever else, but let us not be dogmatically, hard-headedly wrong in calling it "legitimate", "legal" or "constitutional". They are far from any such thing.

And no monarch's presence or expert opinion can make them otherwise.

Where a statute and case law conflict, it is generally presumed that the statute takes precedence over case law. The body responsible for interpreting the Constitution, aptly named the Constitutional Council, has already ruled in an unambiguous decision (case law) on the issue of National Assembly formation, in a similar situation of political impasse in 2003: "This means that there shall be at least 120 deputies to be able to form the National Assembly at every legislature … a necessary condition for the formation of a National Assembly but not for its functioning" (Constitutional Council, 22 July 2003 decision).

Thus, not only does the ruling of the highest court in the land not conflict with the "supreme law of the land", but both Constitution provisions and the Constitutional Council's decision are in sync in expressly ruling against the current CPP-established National Assembly and the CPP-established Government.

The law is a servant of justice, and thus must serve the will and intent of "we, the Cambodian people", the heart of the Constitution, National Assembly, and government in a "liberal, multi-party democracy".

It is true that no one or few elected representatives can hijack the establishment process by failing without cause to show up at the inaugural oath-swearing first session.

But here, in light of the totality of circumstances of the election season of widespread fraud, the CPP's repeatedly refusal to an independent joint commission and its rush unilaterally to expedite the process of establishing the National Assembly and government:

Can we say that 55 CNRP members of a 120-mandated National Assembly not have cause?

That the CNRP who also claimed victory not represent "We, the People of Cambodia"?

That, because the CPP rushed the process of "officialdom" via its controlled National Election Committee, it's fait accompli, without review or contest, thus "constitutional"?

The National Assembly is prima facie unconstitutional; the government is prima facie unconstitutional.

Theary C Seng
US-trained lawyer
Founding president,
CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education

After almost 20 years in the electronics market, KFour is still expanding and expects the ASEAN Economic Community to bring further success. At the electronic retailer's new headquarters, operations manager Bunarong Kit sits down with the Post's Laura Ma to discuss Cambodia's tech obsession.

How has KFour grown?
We started as a very small shop in 1994, now we have eight branches. Between 2009 and 2012, our biggest growth was TVs and home appliances with over seven per cent annually. From 2012, the biggest growth has been in smartphones and tablets. From the beginning of the year we have seen monthly sales rise roughly nine per cent compared year on year with the last three years. Since 2009, we have grown around 10 per cent a year, which is huge for electronics because the margins are usually very low.

What makes KFour successful?
We're a one-stop shop for a lot of brands. We don't focus on a limited number of brands. Our exclusive authorised brands are one of our main competitive advantages, offering brands other retailers can't. Also, we adapt to our customers' wants and needs. Cambodians are used to getting a discount, they love bargaining. If they ask for it nicely enough, and we feel like it, we'll likely discount it.

How has the technology market changed?
The growth in smartphones has been huge over the last two years. They have overtaken TVs and home appliances. We see people with a couple of smartphones in their pocket or in their bag. There's an obsession with everything smart – TVs, fridges, air-conditioning, even smart washing machines. You can control it from your smartphone. A [smart] 32-inch TV can cost just as much as a 50 inch. But people buy it because of these features. It's a huge status symbol.

How successful was the launch of the iPhone 5S and 5C?
The 5S has been a huge success for Apple. The 5C, not so much. For every one customer that buys the 5C, 20 customers buy the 5S. Since the launch, the demand for the previous iPhone 5 has actually gone higher. The 5 is metallic, the 5C is basically the 5 on plastic. People in Cambodia don't like plastic, it feels cheap.

How does the iPhone drive your business?
We actually didn't sell them at first because we didn't want grey products. But demand was so high we had to accommodate customers somehow. We're in talks with Apple to open up an Apple corner inside all KFour branches. They think the market in Cambodia is too small, but we're waiting for them to change their mind.

Why do you want to be an authorised dealer if you already sell them?
Bringing in authorised iPhones raises our own brand image and brings traffic into the store. It doesn't matter if we don't make money with it. Customers come in to look and play with the phones and tablets and they will likely leave buying something else. It's a hero product, a traffic generator. Bringing in authorised iPhones also means warranties. In the past people didn't care about warranties, but we're more educated now.

How does the grey market affect KFour?

It's a headache for us to have customers come in with a product [they got off the grey market] that we can't service because they won't have a warranty from us. Unhappy customers mean we weren't able to provide good enough service. This affects us in the long term. People in Cambodia don't think long term enough but that's changing. Grey products create price wars. Education on warranties and quality will help kill the grey market. With the exception of the iPhone, we don't focus on grey products anymore. Samsung's market used to be 20/80 real product to grey product ratio. But it's dropped to 50/50 now. We foresee that dropping even more in the future.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Court of Appeal yesterday upheld a defamation conviction and corresponding three-year sentence for a newspaper publisher and his business partner.

Last February, Hang Chamreun, who publishes the Ponleu Samaki newspaper and runs a construction business, was charged with defamation, while his business partner, Phai Bunthoeun, was convicted of assisting defamation.

"I cannot be quiet since this decision is absolutely unfair to us and I have launched an appeal to the Supreme Court already," Chamreun said.

Charges against Chamreun and Samaki came after Chamreun filed a series of complaints against the ACU, the Supreme Court, the Phnom Penh Court and a government lawyer.

Three men accused of raping and killing a 35-year-old widow in Russey Keo district earlier this year were tried by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday.

So Sam Oeun, 42, Nuth Neth, 21, and Hean Mean, 33, all face charges of aggravated intentional murder for the gang rape and killing last April of Oeun Em, a palm wine seller, presiding judge Kor Vandy said yesterday.

"They entered into the victim's rental room while she was sleeping alone on April 13 at midnight. They each forcibly raped her successfully, and after, they killed her by breaking her neck," he alleged.

The three accused men were allegedly drinking together to celebrate the Khmer New Year and around midnight headed to Sam Oeun's room, which neighboured the victim's rental room.

Sam Oeun, the only one of the suspects present at the trial, maintained that he reported the crime but was not a perpetrator.

"I would like to deny the court's accusation against me," he said yesterday. "The persons who entered her room and forcibly raped her on that night … were Nuth Neth and Hean Mean, who both escaped."

He added that he heard the victim shout for help, but did not go to her because he was too drunk to wake himself up, though he did report the crime to the victim's family and the police the following day.

"There is no real proof or evidence to show that my client committed the offence as he is accused. Therefore, I would like to request the court to drop charges against him and release him," said Neang Hai, Sam Oeun's defence lawyer.

Dengue-related deaths have dropped 71 per cent during the first nine months of this year when compared to the same period last year, according to officials at the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control.

While 157 died because of dengue in 2012, only 45 deaths have been recorded by government officials during the same period this year.

Dr Char Meng Chuor, director of the centre, told the Post that between January and September this year, the decrease in dengue-related deaths was considerable, citing 15,193 cases compared with 36,958 cases during the same period last year.

"We will continue working hard to prevent this disease, even if it decreases," Meng Chuor said yesterday.

Dr Chantha Ngan, director of the Ministry of Health's anti-dengue program, said the drop was due to protracted efforts to crack down on the disease, but also possibly tied to the unusually rainy year, which serves as a way to "flush out standing water".

But the numbers remain sobering. In Cambodia, like in other poorer countries, cases are likely under-reported because tracking hinges on the number of patients recorded by local hospitals. Anyone too weak to travel or unable to pay out-of-pocket medical fees won't make the final count.

Previous years point to outbreaks beginning in April and May, peaking from August to September and typically diminishing in correlation with the rainy season, a pattern that varies in severity by province.

Dr Ngan called for continued vigilance on the part of citizens during the rainy season.

"Flooding during the rainy season can often help flush out sitting water being used as breeding grounds but small [water] containers near homes can still spread the disease," he said.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday charged an alleged gunman for his role in the armed robberies and shootings of two foreign nationals late last month, a police official said.

Sa Ravan, 25, was charged with robbery and illegal weapons use, deputy municipal police chief Chuon Narin said.

"He has been sent to jail at Prey Sar prison now," he said.

Ravan's associate, Chea Sovann, 32, remains hospitalised. He was shot four times when he opened fire at the police while attempting to evade arrest on Monday night. Police have said similar charges await him.

The pair allegedly confessed to eight armed robberies during the past month. The highest profile of those were two separate robberies, during which an American man and a Japanese woman were shot.

According to Narin, Ravan had only just recently been released from jail – where he had served time for a robbery-murder – when the crimes occurred.