The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “Khim Dima’s win overturned” plus 9 more

Khim Dima thought he had become the first Cambodian to win a major international mixed martial arts match when he stopped Rene Catalan with strikes in the second round of their fight at ONE FC: Total Domination in Singapore on Friday, but the victory was subsequently reviewed and changed to a no contest.

Dima received repeated warnings from Japanese referee Kenichi Serizawa for striking the back of Catalan's head as he rained down a barrage of shots which left the Filipino prone on the canvass in what was initially announced as a TKO win for the flyweight from the A-fighter stable.

However in a press release put out the morning after the event, which took place at the 12,000-seater Singapore Indoor Stadium, ONE FC officials stated that the result would be changed to a no contest with the referee apparently culpable for the controversy.

"Kenichi Serizawa did not do enough to penalize Dhima during the bout for the illegal blows," the press release stated.

It was a major disappointment for Dima, who had gone to bed believing he had won, and was already back in Phnom Penh when he heard the bad news. The Kun Khmer veteran, who is paying his way through a law degree at Build Bright University with the purse money from his fighting career, was upset.

"I don't understand why they took my win away from me. I don't speak English and I didn't understand what the referee was saying to me so I didn't think I was doing anything wrong," he told the Post.

Dima's trainer and owner of A Fighter MMA Club Im Ouk said: "It was one of those things when punches go through and a fighter turns his back."

The language barrier might have been to blame for the failure of Serizawa to communicate to Dima that his strikes were illegal, and it was an anticlimactic end to what had been an exciting couple of days for the Cambodian.

"I cut nearly 10 kilograms for this fight and I have never done that before, so it was very hard for me. But when I saw how much taller I was than my opponent, it made me very confident," Dima said.

"I enjoyed fighting for ONE FC and I hope they will give me an opportunity again soon."

In Friday's main event, Brazilain Bibiano Fernandes scored his third straight decision win under the banner of Asia's biggest MMA promotion, beating Soo Chul Kim of South Korea to become the undisputed bantamweight champion.

Fernandes has previously held DREAM titles at both bantamweight and featherweight, both of which he won courtesy of finishing first out of a field of eight competitors in a Grand Prix, and is the most decorated mixed martial artist in the history of Asian MMA.

Japan's Shinya Aoki has dominated the lightweight division in Asia for the best part of a decade and holds 155lb (70.3kg) titles with both ONE FC and DREAM. He dropped down to featherweight for the first time on Friday night, winning a hard-fought decision victory over Cody Stevens of the US.

There were also wins for Hong Kong's Eddie Ng, Japan's Tatsuya Mizuno and Thailand's Shannon Wiratchai, with the venue completely sold out for this show. Next up for ONE FC is an event in Kuala Lumpur on November 15 which will be headlined by a welterweight title fight between Malaysian welterweight Adam Kayoom and Nobutatsu Suzuki of Japan.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY DAN RILEY

The government has no strategy to regain its popularity, just a strategy to crack down and control.

Some of those who knew Sihanouk from close and afar share their recollections as a memorial statue of the late King Father is unveiled in Phnom Penh.

An electrical malfunction or a domestic dispute are believed the two likeliest scenarios behind a fire that burned down 10 houses in the capital's Meanchey district early on Saturday night.

The fire lasted only about an hour, but necessitated nearly 20 fire trucks to quell the furious, rapidly spreading flames in Boeung Tompun commune's Kbal Tomnob village, said Net Vantha, director of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police Fire Brigade.

A large number of bystanders and the buildings' narrow separation made it difficult for fire-fighters to attack the flames, Vantha said.

"Because of congestion in every street, it was difficult for our forces to find a street to get in," he said. "The blaze took 17 fire engines."

Srey Moa, 21, who lives near the house where the fire started, said the smoke rising from the area at about 6pm on Saturday made her nervous.

"My house is about 100 metres away from the burning house," Moa said.

Although Moa does not know the names of the people who live in the house, she said she often heard arguments emanating from the dwelling.

Boeung Tompun commune chief Sous Sarin could not be reached for comment.

Itching, burning, stinging and bulging blood vessels – these highly contagious conjunctivitis, or "red eye", symptoms are spreading rapidly in Cambodia, where ophthalmologists say the outbreak is the worst in recent memory.

"We're seeing about five times more patients than usual," Dr Do Seiha, vice-chairman of the Cambodian Ophthalmology Society and vice-director of the National Program for Eye Health, said. "We see outbreaks during the rainy season every year, but the number of patients is much higher this year than in the past."

In a report released last week, the National Program for Eye Health found that 4,089 patients sought hospital treatment for conjunctivitis over a period of four weeks.

Hospitals and eye health centres in Phnom Penh, Battambang, Kandal and Kampong Cham saw the greatest proportion of infected patients.

"The number doesn't include all the patients because not everyone will come to a doctor when they get the infection," Seiha said.

Conjunctivitis is caused by the adenovirus and is transmitted person to person through the exchange of respiratory particles.

Shaking hands, sharing towels or touching the same surface as an infected person can lead to transmission.

"Usually people get better in one to two weeks and we treat to relieve the symptoms with things like anti-inflammatory eye drops," Dr Ngy Meng, director of the National Program for Eye Health and director of the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital, said. "The most important thing is for patients to be careful of their hygiene; they need to wash their hands with soap every two hours and watch what they touch."

Doctors advise patients to stay home from work, and say children infected with the virus should be kept home.

"Every age group can be affected, but it spreads especially quickly in schools, where children play together and touch everything," Meng said.

Ophthalmologists say the jury's still out on whether flooding is the culprit behind the hike in cases this year.

"Maybe it's because of the flooding or more rain this year, but we really don't know," Seiha said.

A deported American-Khmer man was arrested and charged in Battambang on Saturday over the killing of a 19-year-old, police said.

According to officials, on October 15, former US resident Nhim Sam Ath, 34, asked Tep Tith Samol, 19, to drive him to Bavel district.

The pair rode to the Cambodian-Thai border to buy drugs. "[Later] Nhim Sam Ath used an old axe on the victim's head, causing the victim to die immediately," said Colonel Cheth Vanny.

Sam Ath was charged with intentional murder, while Morn Khoeun, 24, and Touch Ty, 33, were charged as accomplices.

With pumpkin and taro for elephants, broccoli for trees and carrots and yam for giraffes, Sun Menghoth had less than three hours to create a zoo. After successfully carving a fruit and vegetable diorama, the 28-year-old commis chef from NagaWorld was awarded a bronze medal.

From the finest fruit-carvers to the swiftest of bed-sheet changers, a wide array of hospitality professionals came together at the Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra yesterday and Saturday to compete at the fourth annual Cambodia Restaurant Association (CRA) Competitions.

Around 120 hospitality workers took part in nine competitions. They included baristas, bartenders, cake decorators, wine stewards, servers and chefs. First prize winners, who included representatives from Hotel Cambodiana and French restaurant Topaz, received $300. Contestants in second and third places won $200 and $100 respectively.

Van Porleng, CRA president and owner of Van's Restaurant, said: "It's very important to have the competition because it really enhances people's motivation to do their best to raise the standard of service and quality of the hospitality industry in Cambodia", said Porleng.

New to this year's event was the wine steward competition, which judged contestants knowledge of wine and their ability to properly serve a glass. Hak Seyha, Topaz restaurant's 27 year-old wine steward, said that the competition was child's play. "The general knowledge about the wine was too easy, and the competition has no blind tasting or anything," said Sehya, who competed in an international competition in Singapore in August.

At the chef's table, Rambutan Resort's Meng Ly, 23, explained that his crab dip was a family recipe from Siem Reap. Hotel Cambodiana's Heng Sothear took the top prize.

Success at the CRA Competitions has previously elevated contestants to the international stage. Last month, three winners of the 2012 CRA Competitions flew to Kuala Lumpur to compete in the Culinary 2013 Malaysia competition, where Nuon Phonet of K West Restaurant won a silver medal for her bartending skills.

National team star Maximov Chamraen Youri stormed to three titles in the over-16 men's section of the 2013 FTB Swimming Championships at the Olympic Stadium pool on Saturday.

The 17-year-old Champou Van high school student and I-Can swimming club member touched home in 26.02 seconds to win the 50 metres freestyle final, won the 100 metres freestyle in 59.19 seconds and triumphed in the 100 metres butterfly with a time of 1:24:98.

Opposition supporters in Ratanakkiri yesterday said that local authorities aligned with the ruling Cambodian People's Party have actively obstructed their efforts to circulate petitions ahead of Wednesday's planned rally in Freedom Park.

After collecting more than 100 thumbprints, local government and police officials in Bakeo district invited Kvas Sang, a member of the district's Keh Chung commune council, to a sit-down at the commune hall, he told the Post yesterday.

They asked why he was collecting thumbprints and for the names of those who had signed the petition, he said.

"I replied that it was nothing; we support [the Cambodia National Rescue Party], so they thumbprinted documents to support the CNRP," Sang said.

Heng Bun Thang, Bakeo district governor, yesterday confirmed Sang's account, saying that higher-level officials had ordered their provincial counterparts to halt the collection of thumbprints.

"We do not allow them to do this, because it is a way of provoking villagers. It affects security," Bun Thang said before hanging up the phone.

Facing similar questioning from local authorities, Rocham Choung, second deputy commune chief in Kak commune, said police officers stopped by his home to tell him to cease his petitioning, which had yielded more than 200 thumbprints, he said.

Police staked out his home to see if he left to collect more thumbprints, he added.

"I think that the authorities from the Cambodian People's Party do not want us to support the CNRP and believe it is right to abuse villagers and the supporters of CNRP," Choung said.

Kak commune chief Leuy Touch could not be reached for comment yesterday.

CPP efforts to thwart such opposition activities was no surprise, Cambodian Center for Human Rights president Ou Virak said yesterday, adding that such actions reveal the level of sincerity behind recent talk of reforms.

"This is an in-your-face reality, [that] those reforms are either going to take time, or the CPP isn't really going to let those reforms happen," Virak said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SEAN TEEHAN

Cargo volume via the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP), the second-largest state-owned shipping centre, saw a 22 per cent year-on-year increase in the first nine months of 2013, the latest data show. Port officials said the growth rate was buoyed by import and export activity in the garment, agriculture and construction sectors.

Some 85,100 containers moved in and out of the port during the period, a jump from approximately 70,000 through the first nine months of 2012.

"The rise is in response to the growth of the economy in this period, because of the growth in exports of garment and agricultural products," Eng Veng Sun, PPAP commercial director, said. "Our new terminal, which just launched [in January], is playing a very important role in helping with the rise in cargo traffic right now as we forecast that the existing one couldn't handle it."

With Chinese government funds, the PPAP spent more than $28 million on the construction of a new terminal, located in Kandal province's Kean Svay district, about 30 kilometres from the existing one in Phnom Penh. The nine-month figures, which were released last week, take into account shipping statistics from both terminals.

Most of the imported products were construction materials, consumer goods, raw materials for garments, electronics and vehicles.

Milled rice, other agricultural goods and garment wear continued to dominate Cambodian exports.