Hun Manet Claps Back on Thai Murder, Toxic Haze Blankets Capital, Father Ponchaud Passes On
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, January 24, 2025.
SKY PILOTS: Cooler temperatures, higher humidity and a lack of wind have led to unusually poor air conditions around Phnom Penh, notably 21 times worse than global guidelines. The government has rejected all concerns.
RED ALERT: A Chinese New Year tradition turned deadly outside the home of Sok Kong, the Sokimex tycoon who each year hands out cash-filled envelopes. Four people were killed as crowds pushed in for access.
FINAL VERSE: It was a sad farewell to Father Francois Ponchaud, the tough-as-nails Catholic priest who dedicated his life to Cambodia and exposed the world to the horrors of the Khmer Rouge. He was 85.
THE LEDE
Logic Lapse
After two weeks of government silence, Hun Manet finally responded to allegations that the ruling CPP was involved in ex-opposition leader Lim Kimya’s murder in Bangkok — and it did not go well.
What started as a forceful denial ended up sounding like a confession.
If the government was involved, the prime minister reasoned, why did it arrest the Thai gunman and return him to Bangkok? If the government had the means to hide him, he asserted, why didn’t it?
He was talking about the Thai shooter, but the logic holds for two fugitive Cambodians, both with ties to Hun Sen’s inner circle, who are reportedly hiding from Thai authorities in Cambodia. The prime minister made no mention of those two, or the possibility of their arrests.
Choke Point
Phnom Penh’s skies are grey and smoky, air-quality monitors are flashing red, schools are keeping students inside, and residents are complaining of sore throats and coughs.
Burning season is in full swing — with experts blaming a perfect storm of cool weather, low winds and high humidity for the unusually polluted skies. On Thursday, the Phnom Penh air-quality index soared above 200 — or “very unhealthy” — and at times the capital ranked No. 2 on a list of world cities with the dirtiest air.
The Ministry of Environment insists everything is fine.
Final Stand
A surge of record-breaking wildlife discoveries has excited scientists and sparked hopes of renewed efforts to protect the Kingdom’s untamed wilds — home to a stunning diversity of endangered flora and fauna.
Surveys of Virachey National Park, in the country’s northeast, and the Samlout Multiple Use Area, on the Thai border in the west, have uncovered an array of species unknown to Cambodia — and several unknown to science.
Researchers are certain there is more to find. “The border areas of Cambodia,” one biologist said, “are a stone that has been left very much unturned.”
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TALKING POINTS
Fury Road
Hundreds of angry Takeo residents blocked National Highway 2 in protest over a persistent lack of irrigation, which threatens to destroy crops. Authorities blamed the water shortage on drought and the over-cultivation of dry season rice. Even so, they vowed to open a nearby dam and replenish local reservoirs.
Grain Pain
The E.U. blamed excessive pesticide levels last year when it rejected nearly 4,000 tonnes of Cambodian rice. Since then, importing countries have increased scrutiny of shipments, leading to added storage and inspection fees and delayed payments. The Cambodian Rice Federation warned of growing harm to the national reputation, urging farmers to get a grip on the problem.
Cleaning Up
The Ministry of Labor handed workers a rare victory by requiring the 800 Super-GAEA sanitation company to accept a unionized workforce. Observers applauded the intervention but said it was too soon to tell if the move signaled an about-face by the government, which often sides with owners in labor disputes.
Crowd Crush
Four people died and several were injured in a rush to collect “lucky” red envelopes with money inside — a traditional gift at Chinese New Year. More than 1,000 revellers had gathered at the home of Sok Kong, the Sokimex tycoon, who each year hands out hundreds of envelopes at his palatial estate.
Touch Type
A Cambodian-made app that translates Khmer text to braille won gold at the 2025 ASEAN Digital Awards. The team behind the groundbreaking technology, known as Machine Translation for Khmer Braille, plans to tackle sign language next.
Faith Journey
Father Francois Ponchaud, the sharp-witted Catholic priest who exposed Khmer Rouge horrors to the world in his 1977 book “Cambodia: Year Zero,” passed away in France. He was 85. The well-loved pastor landed in Phnom Penh in 1965 and dedicated much of his life to ministering in the provinces.
Croc Shock
Twenty dead crocodiles were found floating in Battambang’s central Sangke River, leaving police and residents scratching their heads for answers. Officials suspect the reptiles, which are not native to the river, were dumped by a local breeder. Police are investigating.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Retired King Says Tribunal A ‘Hypocrisy’
January 25, 2005
Retired King Norodom Sihanouk questioned the merits of holding a long-awaited Khmer Rouge tribunal on Sunday, saying the prosecution of only a handful of former leaders of Democratic Kampuchea would be a “comedy and hypocrisy.”
RCAF Brass Drinks Restaurant Under Table
January 21, 2005
More than a decade ago, Cheng Sreang opened a restaurant on land near the RCAF Military Region I base in Stung Treng province, anticipating brisk business feeding hungry soldiers.
Court Drops Grenade Attack Case Against PM
January 20, 2005
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s lawsuit implicating Prime Minister Hun Sen in the notorious 1997 grenade attack that killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 120 has been dismissed by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.
WEEKEND READING
Is China Really Powerless to Stop the ‘Scamdemic’? The Truth Is More Complex
The Chinese actor Wang Xing had flown to Bangkok for what he thought was a meeting with Thai movie executives. Instead, he was trafficked across the border to Myanmar, where he was forcibly put to work conducting online scams.
Photos: Dirty skies, Fresh News. Father Ponchaud, WikiMedia.
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