SIEM Reap provincial court yesterday sentenced a Vietnamese man and two Vietnamese women to 10 years each in prison after finding them guilty of selling three underage girls for sex in a brothel in Siem Reap town last year.
Patrick Stayton, president of the International Justice Mission, which provided a lawyer for the victims, said yesterday that police raided a brothel on June 29 last year following a tip-off from IJM.
Police arrested Ty Kimhoeung, 50, the owner of the brothel, and released six Vietnamese prostitutes, three of whom were under the age of 18. A Vietnamese woman and Ty Kimhoeung’s son-in-law remain at large after having escaped the raid.
IJM lawyer Sek Saroeun said yesterday that the court found Ty Kimhoeung guilty of procuring prostitution, while finding the two fugitives guilty in absentia of being accomplices.
Stayton said he was unhappy with the court’s decision not to order the three to pay compensation to the three victims.
“We are satisfied with the court’s conviction, which is the right judgment to show they took the case seriously and gave them heavy sentences,” he said. “But we are not happy that no compensation was given to the victims.”
He said IJM might appeal and request the court to “reconsider” the lack of compensation awarded to the victims.
Defence Lawyer Thorng Vanna said yesterday that he thought the sentence was too severe.
“We are not satisfied with the judgment, and it is a very heavy sentence,” he said, and added that a decision to appeal would depend on his client’s wishes.
Also yesterday, Siem Reap provincial court ordered a 44-year-old man to serve pretrial detention after charging him with raping and killing his 11-year-old stepdaughter in Siem Reap town’s Chong Khneas commune on Tuesday, police officials said.
Saom Phorn, 44, is accused of killing Leng Kunthea, whose body was discovered roughly 5 metres from her house on Tuesday. An autopsy revealed the girl was raped, and that she was strangled and suffered head injuries.
Deputy district police chief Mak Sam On said yesterday the court ordered the accused to serve pretrial detention.
“The court prosecutor has charged the accused with sexual assault and intentional murder,” he said.
“He didn’t confess to us, but later confessed to court officials that he killed the girl because she screamed, and he feared that she would alert the
neighbours.”
He added: “It was a brutal killing and the first time in my area that a father has raped and killed a daughter in a long time.”
Court officials could not be reached for comment.
(source from the phnom penh post newspaper, Friday, 15 October 2010 15:02 Chrann Chamroeun)
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
WiMAX debacle must prove a wake-up call
LAST year it all looked so promising and straightforward. Give internet service providers bandwidth and a licence to operate, creating stability for the likes of Chuan Wei and Mekong Net to feel confident to invest millions of dollars in WiMAX – a technology that could increase broadband coverage and lower connectivity costs in Cambodia.
But that confidence has evaporated. After nearly a year in which the government has failed to solve an overlapping licence issue, the Kingdom’s internet expansion looks to be stalled by years as investors hold back until the fiasco is resolved.
The country is set to lose out on the many benefits associated with spreading internet connectivity. In the words of one anonymous ISP executive whose company has been affected by the debacle: “This licensing problem has come along at the worst possible time for Cambodia.”
How and why did the government allow this to happen?
Just a few years ago analysts were predicting a rapid broadband rollout in Cambodia that would reduce some of the highest connection costs in the region. But with companies now reluctant to spend on costly WiMAX stations, which can transmit connectivity up to 50 kilometres where no cables exist, less comprehensive solutions such as enhanced WiFi are being deployed.
This cheaper technology can travel just 1 kilometre, at best. The result is that internet expansion to rural areas remains stalled. Where cables do exist, WiMAX has often not yet been deployed to compete and reduce costs.
Countless studies have shown that where you boost internet connectivity, you also spur economic activity. A 2009 World Bank study found that where you boost the number of internet users by 1 percent you in turn raise exports 4.3 percentage points. When new users go online they have access to a host of resources that point to potential markets, help advertise their products, increase communication and even secure payments outside of the confines of their town or village.
Rural connectivity also helps communities diversify economic activity away from agriculture, a major advantage when the economy remains extremely narrow. In cities, where you have confident ISPs investing in infrastructure and bringing down costs, the economic benefits are obvious – cheap, comprehensive internet coverage is an indispensable tool for GDP growth.
The government’s fumbling of the internet licensing issue is creating a serious setback for what would be guaranteed GDP growth. The solution is obvious. At the highest levels of government a clear decision needs to be made regarding the jurisdiction ministries have over licences. The problem is, of course, that licences provide lucrative revenue streams.
The debacle should serve as a wake-up call. If ever there was an instance when officials needed to sacrifice self-interest for the wider economic benefit, then surely this is it.
(source from the phnompenh post newspaper, Friday, 15 October 2010 15:01 Steve Finch)
But that confidence has evaporated. After nearly a year in which the government has failed to solve an overlapping licence issue, the Kingdom’s internet expansion looks to be stalled by years as investors hold back until the fiasco is resolved.
The country is set to lose out on the many benefits associated with spreading internet connectivity. In the words of one anonymous ISP executive whose company has been affected by the debacle: “This licensing problem has come along at the worst possible time for Cambodia.”
How and why did the government allow this to happen?
Just a few years ago analysts were predicting a rapid broadband rollout in Cambodia that would reduce some of the highest connection costs in the region. But with companies now reluctant to spend on costly WiMAX stations, which can transmit connectivity up to 50 kilometres where no cables exist, less comprehensive solutions such as enhanced WiFi are being deployed.
This cheaper technology can travel just 1 kilometre, at best. The result is that internet expansion to rural areas remains stalled. Where cables do exist, WiMAX has often not yet been deployed to compete and reduce costs.
Countless studies have shown that where you boost internet connectivity, you also spur economic activity. A 2009 World Bank study found that where you boost the number of internet users by 1 percent you in turn raise exports 4.3 percentage points. When new users go online they have access to a host of resources that point to potential markets, help advertise their products, increase communication and even secure payments outside of the confines of their town or village.
Rural connectivity also helps communities diversify economic activity away from agriculture, a major advantage when the economy remains extremely narrow. In cities, where you have confident ISPs investing in infrastructure and bringing down costs, the economic benefits are obvious – cheap, comprehensive internet coverage is an indispensable tool for GDP growth.
The government’s fumbling of the internet licensing issue is creating a serious setback for what would be guaranteed GDP growth. The solution is obvious. At the highest levels of government a clear decision needs to be made regarding the jurisdiction ministries have over licences. The problem is, of course, that licences provide lucrative revenue streams.
The debacle should serve as a wake-up call. If ever there was an instance when officials needed to sacrifice self-interest for the wider economic benefit, then surely this is it.
(source from the phnompenh post newspaper, Friday, 15 October 2010 15:01 Steve Finch)
Cambodian economy earns ‘mini-tiger’ recognition
CAMBODIA’S economy has emerged as a “mini-tiger” in terms of textile processing, despite a lack of attention from international investors, according to a report drawn up by Swiss banking giant UBS.
The Kingdom was one of the largest beneficiaries of the decade’s “globalisation boom”, said the report compiled by the Securities Asia division.
“The country has quietly established itself as a mini-tiger in textile processing and assembly, a fact generally overlooked by most investors including ourselves,” the emerging- market report said.
Of 80 emerging countries surveyed by the bank, only six – Cambodia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Thailand and Vietnam
– recorded more than a 25 percent increase in manufacturing exports as a share of GDP from 1997 to 2008.
The report, which described Cambodia’s performance as a “shock”, has drawn support in the Kingdom.
Garment Manufacturers’ Association in Cambodia Secretary General Ken Loo said yesterday the Kingdom was generally an attractive location for foreign investors. With wages for garment workers rising in the China and Vietnam, Cambodia stood to attract additional interest, he said.
“There’s a huge potential here,” he said, although a number of challenges – such as frequent strikes, high electricity costs, and poor infrastructure – needed to be addressed.
Cambodia’s garment exports increased 13.4 percent to US$1.628 billion during the first seven months of the year, according to Ministry of Commerce statistics.
University of Cambodia economics lecturer Chheng Kimlong said yesterday that although the domestic economy was doing well, it was stronger before the financial crisis.
(source from the Phnompenh post newspaper, Friday, 27 August 2010 15:03 Jeremy Mullins and Catherine James)
The Kingdom was one of the largest beneficiaries of the decade’s “globalisation boom”, said the report compiled by the Securities Asia division.
“The country has quietly established itself as a mini-tiger in textile processing and assembly, a fact generally overlooked by most investors including ourselves,” the emerging- market report said.
Of 80 emerging countries surveyed by the bank, only six – Cambodia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Thailand and Vietnam
– recorded more than a 25 percent increase in manufacturing exports as a share of GDP from 1997 to 2008.
The report, which described Cambodia’s performance as a “shock”, has drawn support in the Kingdom.
Garment Manufacturers’ Association in Cambodia Secretary General Ken Loo said yesterday the Kingdom was generally an attractive location for foreign investors. With wages for garment workers rising in the China and Vietnam, Cambodia stood to attract additional interest, he said.
“There’s a huge potential here,” he said, although a number of challenges – such as frequent strikes, high electricity costs, and poor infrastructure – needed to be addressed.
Cambodia’s garment exports increased 13.4 percent to US$1.628 billion during the first seven months of the year, according to Ministry of Commerce statistics.
University of Cambodia economics lecturer Chheng Kimlong said yesterday that although the domestic economy was doing well, it was stronger before the financial crisis.
(source from the Phnompenh post newspaper, Friday, 27 August 2010 15:03 Jeremy Mullins and Catherine James)
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