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By Colin Meyn
The Cambodia Daily
The Appeal Court questioned more than 20 witnesses on Thursday in the
case of former Bavet City governor Chhouk Bundith and his alleged role
in a triple shooting, with one witness claiming that he had seen Mr.
Bundith shoot his gun into a crowd of protesting factory workers.
As of Wednesday, the hearing was once again closed to the public, with
court officials explaining that it was an ongoing investigation and not
an open trial.
Lawyers and court officials remained tight-lipped about the court’s
proceedings, and declined to comment on whether the Bar Association of
Cambodia’s recent gag order on its lawyers speaking to the media was the
reason for their silence.
On his second day in court, Mr. Bundith again appeared in good spirits,
this time dressed in a khaki-colored uniform similar to those worn by
Bavet City police officers who were witnesses yesterday.
Mr. Bundith could be seen occasionally crossing and uncrossing his legs,
or leaning forward to rest his elbows on his haunches, as more than 20
witnesses were questioned about the events of February 20, 2012, during a
violent strike outside a factory making shoes for German sports brand
Puma.
Long
Phorn, deputy police chief of Bavet City’s Prasat commune, said outside
the courtroom that he had testified to having seen Mr. Bundith open fire
on the protesters.
“I saw him shoot, and I saw a worker fall down,” Mr. Phorn said shortly
after giving his testimony. “But he [Chhouk Bundith] denied this,” he
added.
Mr. Phorn explained that he was standing roughly 7 meters from Mr.
Bundith when he saw the then-governor open fire on a crowd of protesting
workers. Three women were injured in the shooting.
The Svay Rieng Provincial Court initially levied the charge of causing
unintentional injuries against Mr. Bundith in April, 2012, for his role
in the triple shooting after Interior Minister Sar Kheng announced that
he was the sole suspect identified after an interministerial
investigation of the incident.
However, the court, without explanation, dropped all charges against Mr.
Bundith in December. Instead, the court charged Bavet City police
officer Sar Chantha with the shooting. Mr. Chantha has proclaimed his
innocence repeatedly by saying that he was not even armed on the day of
the protest.
Amid intense public interest in the case, the Appeal Court announced in
January that it was carrying out a re-investigation of Mr. Bundith
under the orders of Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana.
Also questioned in court yesterday were Bavet City police chief Keo Kong
and Svay Rieng provincial police chief Koeng Khorn. Both declined to
comment on their testimony.
According to the three shooting victims present during yesterday’s
hearing, Keo Nea, 19; Bun Chenda, 21; and Nuth Sakhorn, 23, the more
than 20 police officers who were present at the strike and were
witnesses in court all said that they had heard gunshots the day of the
strike. But only Mr. Phorn actually said he saw Mr. Bundith doing the
shooting.
“Chhouk Bundith denied that he did this but we all objected to his
denial because [Mr. Phorn] saw this very clearly,” Ms. Sakhorn said.
On Wednesday, Mr. Bundith testified to shooting his handgun in the air
more than 10 times, but said he was unaware where the bullets went.
Mao Samvutheary, Mr. Bundith’s lawyer, said Mr. Phorn had the right to his version of events.
“The witness has the right to say that, but the [provincial] court did
not charge [Mr. Bundith in the end],” Ms. Samvutheary said. “I request
the Appeal Court to uphold the provincial court’s resolution verdict.”
About 17 garment workers were also summoned for questioning yesterday,
but none of them turned up, said the victims’ lawyer, Sary Bothchakrya.
Ms. Bothchakrya and Chin Lyda, another lawyer of the victims, both
declined to comment on the hearing.
Am Sam Ath, technical supervisor for local rights group Licadho, said he
would monitor Mr. Phorn’s safety after he gave such strong testimony
against Mr. Bundith in court.
“I am concerned about this witness’ safety because he dares to answer
these questions with the truth,” Mr. Sam Ath said. “We will continue to
monitor this case.”
German sports brand Puma—which sources from the factory the three
injured victims work at—also attempted to monitor the court proceedings
but were ousted from the chambers on Wednesday at the request of Mr.
Bundith’s lawyer.
“Puma hopes that the Cambodian government will put all efforts in
convicting the guilty perpetrator who committed the crime,” Kerstin
Neuber, head of Puma’s corporate communications, said in an email on
Wednesday.
Presiding Judge Khun Leang Meng said a decision in the case will be announced on March 4.
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