Over 100,000 pills of drug substances destroyed in Cambodia

Phnom Penh Municipality on Thursday destroyed 107,958 pills of mixed drug substances including 21,499 grams of cocaine, 601 grams of heroin, over 80,000 pills of methamphetamines and amphetamines and other drugs substances, as well as some materials of drug lab. "Drug substances and drug materials for labs that we burned off today were confiscated from criminals," Kep Chutema, Phnom Penh governor said in the ceremony of destroying at the outskirt of Phnom Penh. "Drug trafficking cases have decreased after the authorities have cracked down on drug distribution places and drug using places," he said. However, he added that cases of crimes have increased in Phnom Penh and it has occurred among young people. "So far this year, our authorities in Phnom Penh has cracked down 36 drug cases and arrested 80 criminals, and also seized some drug substances," he noted. "We have strengthened the law enforcement and our law enforcement officials have raised their law enforcement ability." "We will establish a new drug-rehabilitation center for women in Phnom Penh and we considered drug users as drug victims without discrimination," he said. "We have helped 2,143 people to get rid of drugs through the rehabilitation center, and other 215 people are in process of drug rehabilitation," Kep Chutema said, adding that "after they left this center, they will have jobs and skills for helping themselves and family." Cambodia became the one of places of drug transmit, according to the governor. "Criminals used our country to distribute drugs to other countries and produce drug, even we destroyed it regularly," he said, "We must get together to stop the drug trafficking and fight against it to live with harmony at the local community."

Source:Xinhua

Cambodia mourns 'holy cow'

Hundreds of Cambodians on Thursday began a ceremony for the death of a "holy cow" whose spit could supposedly cure several illnesses, local officials said.
The mystical calf, which reportedly had unusual skin that looked like crocodile hide, was born on Tuesday and died earlier onThursday in northern Pursat province, village chief Sok Mim said.
He said around 100 villagers gathered at the house of the cow's owner for a three-day memorial ceremony.
"A lot of people have flocked to the ceremony. They offered money and lit incense sticks before the cow to pray for it to be reborn and live a longer life," said Sok Mim.
"The cow looked strange. Its legs have signs like carved arts, and its skin is like a crocodile's skin. Old people believe that the cow is holy," Sok Mim said.
"Some people used the spit from the cow's mouth to cure their toothache and other illness. They said they recovered from aches afterwards," Sok Mim added.
A local police official said villagers believed the cow had mystical powers because there had been a lot of rain in the drought-hit village after its birth.
Cambodians are highly superstitious, particularly in the countryside where people continue to meld animist practices with Buddhism.

Cambodia hosts meeting to discuss microfinance amid global financial crisis

With the helps from the International Financial Corporation (IFC) and the European Union (EU), Cambodia is hosting a conference to talk on how microfinance can boost country's economy, promote financial inclusion and enhance customer protection.

The IFC which is a member of the World Bank Group is helping Cambodian microfinance institutions to strengthen their contribution to the country's socio-economic development, and expand financial services to the rural population amid the global financial crisis.

The two-day meeting, which began Wednesday, participated by representatives from the Cambodia Microfinance Association, senior microfinanciers, bankers, regulators, and local authorities.

"The microfinance sector in Cambodia has grown fast and significantly contributed to improving access to financial services for the rural population," said Chea Chanto, governor of the National Bank of Cambodia.

"The success of the sector is vital to ensuring quick financial inclusion. We have adopted legislation that enables microfinance institutions to mobilize public deposits to help them access cheaper sources of funds while allowing rural populations to safely save their hard-earned cash," he said.

Participants also shared their views and experiences on how to respond to the global financial crisis, addressing credit culture, risk and nonperforming loan management, ethical debt collection practices, financial education, and consumer protection.

"The microfinance sector, which has loans of more than 280 million U.S. dollars outstanding to about one million clients in rural areas, already has felt the impact of the global financial crisis as no performing loans have increased from under one percent one year ago to 3.8 percent as of June 2009," said Huot Ieng Tong, president of Cambodia Microfinance Association.

IFC also works with individual microfinance institutions to help them diversify and focus their strategies, expanding their product range and improving their risk management capabilities.

"While the crisis has adversely affected microfinance institutions and their borrowers, it also brings opportunities for them to review their lending practices and risk and nonperforming loan management systems so they become more resilient to future crises," said Russell Muir, IFC Acting Head of Advisory Services for East Asia and Pacific.

Source:Xinhua

Cambodia: Appointment Of Judges

Cambodia: Appointment Of Judges And Prosecutors Is Unconstitutional

Lately there has been a hectic time within the Cambodian judiciary with the actual and planned retirement and appointments of many judges and prosecutors. The government has retired and replaced half of the members, two ex-officio and two appointed, of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy (SCM), the supreme judicial body responsible for the nomination and discipline of judges and prosecutors. A further 27 are also to be retired. In the meantime, some 32 judges and prosecutors, including four who are the de facto age of retirement of 60, have been appointed to new positions.

In a statement dated 7 August 2009 (see CAMBODIA: Law on the statute of judges, not their retirement, is the right end from which to tackle judicial reform), the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has already pointed out the unconstitutionality of the government’s infringement upon the jurisdiction and independence of the SCM when it had bypassed it and retired and replaced those four SCM members. According to the country’s Constitution, the nomination, including appointment, retirement and transfer, as well as the discipline of judges and prosecutors are the responsibility of the SCM, and not that of the government. The SCM is the supreme body of the judiciary which is chaired by the country’s king and which also has the responsibility of ensuring judicial independence.
The AHRC has also urged the Cambodian government to enact two long-overdue laws which the country has specifically stipulated (Art.135 of the Constitution) and which would provide the legal background and framework for the judiciary as required under Art.14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the right to a fair trial by an independent, competent and impartial tribunal established by law. With the law on the statute of judges and prosecutors, the age of retirement would be officially fixed and known, and actual retirement could be set without arousing any suspicion of favouritism for those who wish to remain in active service.
The AHRC has further noticed that the appointment of judges and prosecutors, as shown in the king’s successive appointment decrees, has not respected the principle of separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary as enshrined the country’s Constitutions (Arts 51 and 128). In these appointments, the Minister of Justice, a cabinet member and also a member of the SCM, has made nomination proposals, received the approval of the SCM and submitted them to the king for signing. For some appointments, the SCM has been bypassed altogether and the proposals directly submitted to the king for signature.
This practice contravenes Art 134 of the country’s Constitution which says, among other things, that “The Supreme Council of the Magistracy shall make proposals to the King on the appointment of judges and prosecutors to all courts.” It should be declared unconstitutional when, according Art. 150 of the same Constitution, “Laws and decisions by the State institutions shall have to be in strict conformity with the Constitution.”
The Cambodian government and its ministry of justice in particular seem to have exploited the absence of the constitutional review or any other forms of judicial review of their decisions and have tried to rule by decree, at least in appointment and retirement of judges and prosecutors. The constitutional review of laws seems clear cut when a specific number of public figures and even ordinary citizens may request for it. However, there is almost a complete silence over the constitutional review of decisions of state institutions, the government and its ministries included. Only a litigant who feels his or her rights are affected by such a decision could raise the issue of its unconstitutionality with the Constitutional Council through the Supreme Court. Unlike in the case of promulgated laws, neither any public figure mentioned above nor any concerned citizen may request for the constitutional review of decisions of state institutions. Nor is the Constitutional Council habilitated to do this constitutional
The AHRC strongly urges the Minister of Justice to respect the principle of separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary and the SCM, refrain from infringing upon the jurisdiction of the SCM, and let this supreme judicial body fully exercise its full constitutional authority over the nomination and discipline of judges and prosecutors. The Minister of Justice should relinquish its control of the SCM Secretariat and transfer it back where it belongs, that is, to the SCM. It should instead secure for the SCM adequate resources to enable it to fulfill its constitutional duties in the nomination and discipline of judges and prosecutors, and in the independence of the judiciary.
AHRC further urges that all decisions of state institutions, including those of the government and the Ministry of Justice regarding the nomination and discipline of judges and prosecutors as well as the independence of the judiciary, should be in strict conformity with the Constitution as specifically stipulated under its Art 150. The Law on the Organization and Functioning of the Constitutional Council should therefore be amended in order to subject such decisions to the same constitutional review as all laws.
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Holiday Villa to open 2 more hotels in Cambodia, China

HAVING made its presence felt in eight countries, Holiday Villa Hotels & Resorts, one of the leading hotel chains in Malaysia, expects to open two more properties in Cambodia and China by the end of the year.In a statement made available to Business Times, Holiday Villa, a member the public-listed Advance Synergy group, said two more properties were in the pipeline, namely in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, and Kaifeng in Henan, China.Holiday Villa opened its door to guests in Doha, Qatar, with the soft launch of the Holiday Villa Hotel and Residence City Centre on July 20.With the launch, Holiday Villa now operates 18 quality hotels and resorts with a total of 4,000 rooms and suites.
Besides Malaysia and Qatar, Holiday Villa Hotels and Resorts are located in the UK, Indonesia, Australia, Sudan, Cambodia, Vietnam and China. Early this year, the hotel group expanded to Halong Bay in Vietnam and Shenzhen in China.On its property in Doha, Holiday Villa said the hotel is strategically located at Al-Muntazah Signal, opposite the Muntazah Park.

Source: Business Times