Khmer New Year Returns, Human Trafficking Skyrockets, NagaWorld Banks $1 Million Per Day

Apr 08, 2022

Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, April 8, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.

Note: The Dispatch will take a break for Khmer New Year. See you on April 22.

HOUSE MONEY: NagaWorld’s case against striking union members took a hit when quarterly revenue reached $1 million per day. The casino had said bad business led to mass layoffs.
ON THE RIVER: Rains in Stung Treng province exposed an ancient stone carving. Local people said the intricate, centuries-old relic was a sure sign of a good year ahead.
GAG ORDER: A man known as “Teacher Dwarf” has made more than $20,000 by posting zany YouTube videos. His latest gag — eating fake cow dung — did not amuse the authorities.

THE LEDE

Fun, Finally

Siem Reap is gearing up for a roaring Khmer New Year’s bash — and the excitement is simply uncontainable.

More than a million partiers are expected for weeklong festivities that include concerts, international boxing matches, boat races and untold tons of food and booze.

Fair enough: It’s the town’s first Songkran festival since 2019, and leaders of the pandemic-battered tourism industry couldn’t be more thrilled. The party starts Tuesday.

Covid-19 cases, meanwhile, have dropped to record lows and Hun Sen has hinted that mask mandates may be scrapped.

Could this collective Covid-19 nightmare be coming to an end?

Poll Dance

The ruling CPP brushed off allegations that Hun Sen was using public appearances for political gain outside the legal campaign season, activities forbidden by election law.

The National Election Committee — itself accused of bias — said it was powerless to stop such violations. The NEC did, however, bar 150 opposition candidates from standing in the June 5 district elections.

The Candlelight Party said the move was part of a larger pattern of harassment. The Candlelighters are expected to make a decent showing, but few expect the fledgling party to weaken the CPP’s stranglehold on power.

Cold Case?

This sister of a Thai democracy activist abducted in Cambodia joined more than 40 rights groups to demand the U.N. investigate her brother’s disappearance.

Cambodian police initially rejected the kidnapping as fake news. Their reluctance persisted even after a video of his June 2020 abduction emerged — and the case went cold.

The family claims the abduction was plotted by the Thai government. An investigation that ensnared Bangkok would infuriate a Phnom Penh ally, making a proper inquiry improbable, no matter what the U.N. says.

TALKING POINTS

Deport Report

Cambodia arrested more than 4,300 foreigners last year and deported more than 3,500 foreigners. Nearly 80% of those deported were Thai.

Trafficking Doubles

Human trafficking crimes more than doubled last year to 359, up from 155 in 2020. Victims included surrogates and their babies, sex workers and laborers. Cases of organ trafficking were also reported. Authorities made arrests in more than half the reported cases.

Diploma Cheats

A scandal is brewing over 43 medical students who were expelled for using fake high school diplomas to enroll. An investigation into the origin of the fake certificates is underway, and some wonder if education officials were involved.

Hidden Treasure

Heavy rains in Stung Treng unearthed a centuries-old stone sculpture buried inside a collapsed river bank. Locals proclaimed the discovery a good omen for the coming new year.

Kidnap Claims

Police said 15 Malaysians allegedly kidnapped by a Sihanoukville casino were just disgruntled employees looking for a free ride home. Cambodia has been rattled by kidnapping claims from troubled foreigners, and the country is pushing hard to dispel its reputation for online scammers and kidnapping gangs.

Snake Pit

NagaCorp, the parent company of NagaWorld casino, reported a strong rebound over the final three months of 2021 — to more than $1 million per day. Profits may stiffen the resolve of the casino’s labor union, which has denounced mass layoffs. The company blamed Covid-19’s impact for the firings.

Tall Tale

A man who calls himself “Teacher Dwarf” and apparently ate cow dung on YouTube drew swift condemnation from authorities. The vertically challenged 29-year-old said he had made more than $20,000 in two years by posting zany videos. The manure, he told police, was actually chocolate.

BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault

Cambodia’s Largest Land Concession Poses Ominous Threat to Environment

April 6, 2002
The old man bounces down the dirt path inside a Toyota Camry, into the waiting arms of the forest. “When I die, I don’t want to be reborn as the eagle,” says Loek Thuong, 69. “I want to be reborn as the mountain spirit, to protect the trees. Because I see the trees disappearing day by day.”

Six Arrested in Killing of Girl, 14, for Luck

April 4, 2002
Authorities on Wednesday sent six people to Battambang provincial court to answer charges they killed a 14-year-old girl because they believed it would bring them good luck.

Program To Teach Resolution of Labor Disputes

April 3, 2002
A $500,000-plus US government-funded project launched Tuesday aims to help factory workers, managers and government officials solve labor disputes before they lead to vandalism and violence.

Chinese River Plans May Threaten Cambodia

April 2, 2002
What may prove to be some of the most important decisions on the fate of Cambodia’s environment are being made not in Phnom Penh, but in Beijing.

The Weekly Dispatch

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