Last week, almost exactly on the same day, two victims of crime expressed in public their fear of their attackers long after the offences had taken place. The first one was Ms Chem Sopheap, 35, a vendor of sugar cane juice in Phnom Penh. She had to go into hiding upon the news that her attacker had been released from jail, fearing retaliation from him.
Over seven months ago a senior army officer, Colonel Chhor Dara, who is a relation of a top army commander, suspected that his wife had had an affair and held Chem Sopheap, who has close relations with his family, responsible for facilitating it. Chhor beat Chem with a rifle butt causing serious injuries to her head and threatened her with a handgun.
Chor was then arrested, charged with attempted murder and held in detention for over seven months before his trial. The court of Phnom Penh changed the charge to battery with intent, an offence which carries a jail term ranging from two months to five years, depending on the degree of the disability sustained by the victim. It sentenced him to three months in jail, a sentence considered far too light for such a crime. As his pre-trial detention had exceeded the jail term, Chhor was released within 24 hours of the court judgment.
The second victim was a 23-year old popular singer and TV host, Ms Pov Panhapech. She was shot twice in the neck and torso in February 2007 while she was about to enter her English school in Phnom Penh. She was immediately taken to a hospital in Vietnam for treatment. She has survived, but sadly, she was crippled by the wounds she sustained.
Her attacker is still at large. In a recent radio interview, Pen said “I want to go back” to Cambodia, “but do not dare to”. She added that “if he [the assassin] shot me once, and I didnt die, but if I go back, I will surely die. I am very scared and very apprehensive. This time I was lucky”, and she repeated that “If I go back, I will surely die.”
The fear of retaliation expressed by these two victims of crime is also commonly felt among other victims. In the past there have been unreported cases in which released convicts have intimidated their victims for reporting their crimes to the police.
The situation is already very bad when the State fails to protect its citizens from crime. However, it would be unacceptable if it failed to protect and help those citizens who have been victims. It is now high time that the Cambodian government, prosecution and courts abided by the UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power of November 1985.
The State should take measures to protect the rights of those victims, namely, the right to be referred to adequate support services; to receive information about the progress of the case; to be present and give input to the decision-making; the right to counsel; to protection of physical safety and privacy; and to compensation, from both the offender and the State.
To allay the fear for their physical safety that Chem Sopheap, Pen Panhapech and other victims of crime have, the prosecution and courts should consult such victims and seek their views and concerns at appropriate stages of the proceedings where their physical safety is affected, especially before making any decision to release their attackers. They should impose upon those attackers certain conditions, for instance not to be in the vicinity of the victims’ domicile and place of work, and notification to the police of those localities for protection purposes, to ensure they will not do any further harm to their victims. They should also notify the victims of their decision prior to the release.
For their part the government and the police should ensure the physical protection of the victims and also ensure that counseling and other assistance are provided to them. The continued fear and trauma that Pen Panhapech is experiencing cries out for such counseling and other assistance.
