Chinese Zodiac Fears, Shoe-Hurling Haters, Athletes Shine at SEA Games

Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, May 20, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.

• BRIDE WARS: Chinese men pay as much as $40,000 for an illegally trafficked Cambodian bride, many lured by fake jobs or sold by family members. Experts say the pandemic has made a bad situation even worse.

• GRAFT PACT: Online gambling, shady loans, bogus jobs and romance scams are everywhere on Cambodia’s internet. Now, local cybercrime police have joined with Facebook officials to teach users how to avoid the web of crime.

• MEDAL COUNT: Cambodia’s national athletes have already taken gold in wrestling, petanque, vovinam and kickboxing at the biennial Southeast Asian Games, and the Kingdom is on pace to surpass its best-ever gold medal tally of eight.

THE LEDE

Race Ready

The Candlelight Party promised to contest the upcoming local elections, backing away from earlier threats to boycott the June 5 vote.

The official two-week campaign period starts tomorrow, in what is essentially a two-horse race between the ruling CPP and the 4-month-old Candlelighters. Few gave the fledgling party much of a chance, but even with Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy barred from campaigning, the group has emerged as a political force.

A regional election watchdog predicted the poll would fail the free-and-fair test, and no one expects the upstart party to seriously challenge the CPP’s hold on power — but a full-on drubbing no longer seems certain.

Retread Remarks

The Strongman fired back at a shoe-hurling hater in Washington: “We can throw shoes too,” he warned.

Hun Sen initially urged calm after the incident, but his tone soon turned menacing. He demanded Washington explain why the loafer-lobbing Cambodia-American wasn’t in jail. He also warned that if shoe tossing was legitimate free expression, then Cambodia’s opposition should fear for its safety — an apparent admission that his supporters were capable of more than just flinging footwear.

Hun Sen promised a Cambodian prison cell for the hapless hurler, but he had no plans of filing charges or seeking diplomatic intervention. The U.S. said it was investigating.

Numbers Game

Deep belief in the Chinese Zodiac and fears of an untimely death prompted Hun Sen to change his official birthday.

The prime minister said he is giving up April 4, 1951 — the date he has used for decades — for August 5, 1952, his true birthday. The change of heart followed the recent death of his brother, who also lived with an incorrect birth date.

Hun Sen, 69 again, said his brother’s use of two birthdays may have put him in conflict with Chinese star signs. Born in the Year of the Cow, he lived as a Tiger, which may have wreaked havoc with the heavens and led to a premature demise. The Strongman was taking no chances.

TALKING POINTS

Great Sport

Cambodia’s athletes are making history at the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi. The country’s men’s volleyball team advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 1983. The wrestling, petanque, vovinam and kickboxing teams all clinched first place honors. And the Kingdom is well on track to surpass its previous gold-medal record of eight set in 2013.

Grift App

Dodgy job proposals, shady loan offers, hacked accounts, lotteries, gambling and romance scams — the spread of Cambodian Facebook cons seems boundless. It’s now so bad, cybercrime police and Facebook officials have launched a public service campaign to educate users about the increasingly sophisticated scams of online grifters.

Water Hazards 

Raw sewage and other industrial contaminants continue to pour into the Tonle Sap nearly a year after authorities jailed four environmental activists for documenting river pollution. VOD discovered at least four instances of hazardous runoff, including “cloudy discharge” from a Koh Pich cement factory.

Missed Deadline

The Khmer Times’ controversial publisher, T. Mohan, failed to appear in court to face sexual harassment charges. The case was filed by a former female reporter who accused Mohan of pressuring to exchange sex for money. In fear for her safety, she quit her job and fled the country. Mohan has denied the charges.

Under Siege

The arrival of an international gold mine in Mondulkiri province has done nothing for the fortunes of local Bunong people, who have collected resin and medicinal plants in the area for some 2,000 years. The mining concession covers 400 square kilometers of forest, most of which has been clear-cut or fenced off, depriving families of their primary income. The Bunong fear their way of life may soon disappear, like the trees.

Bail Fail

A Phnom Penh court denied bail to a former high-ranking CPP member who faces years in prison for leveling sexual assault allegations at Chea Sophara, a ruling party heavyweight and deputy prime minister. In October, the official posted videos to Facebook alleging the party boss had acted improperly with two women. He was promptly jailed on a fistful of charges, including defamation, incitement and insulting a public official.

Indecent Proposals

Cambodian brides are big business in China, where traffickers charge between $20,000 and $40,000 for a match. Many were tricked by bogus job offers or sold by family members, crime experts said, and legalizing the trade would help end black-market brokering and allow for much needed government oversight.

Internet Control  

Pressure groups continued to hammer the government over its so-called national internet gateway. Led by Human Rights Watch, a coalition of 33 NGOs asked for the law to be revoked immediately. The internet gateway, loosely modeled on China’s Great Firewall, was slated for launch in February but was abruptly pulled due to technical hurdles. The government remains tight-lipped about its status.

BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault

Verdict in Hotel Bombing Trial Due This Week

May 16, 2002
Phnom Penh Municipal Court Tuesday opened the trial of seven men accused of bombing two hotels in Phnom Penh but de­layed delivering a verdict until later this week, court officials said Wednesday.

Court Rules Against Editor In Libel Case

May 14, 2002
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted an opposition newspaper editor of defamation and libel on Monday, saying the newspaper broke the law when it published articles calling Prince Norodom Ranariddh and the National Assembly “silly and greatly corrupt.”

Opposition Says Activist’s Death Political

May 13, 2002
Even as authorities continued their investigation into last week’s shooting death of a 28-year-old Sam Rainsy Party activist in Kompong Thom province, party officials were saying the slaying was politically motivated.

Suspected Killer Sam Bith Sighted in Pailin

May 13, 2002
Former Khmer Rouge com­man­der Sam Bith, wanted for his alleged involvement in the 1994 killing of three Western backpackers, has resurfaced, having been spotted at a Pailin restaurant last week.

WEEKEND READING

Low Mekong waters make life hard around Cambodia’s smaller lakes

While Tonle Sap is recognised as a resource worthy of protection, countless other lakes, ponds and wetlands also depend on Mekong flooding but are dwindling away unnoticed.

Fishing crackdown disrupts Tonle Sap lives

Overfishing prompted by environmental degradation leads to police action that residents say compounds the woes of struggling communities on Cambodia’s largest lake.

Roar on the River: A Torrent of Sand Shores Up City’s Rise

Sand dredging in Phnom Penh’s rivers is almost impossible to miss, with fleets of barges making their way along the channels at almost every point during the day.

Photos: CPP party, Erwan Deverre, via Flickr. Vovinam, Khem Sovannara, for AKP.