Demonstration At Jin Chan Factory Violently Broke Up

At least about 40 Jin Chan garment factory workers were assaulted by Daun Penh district policemen on January, 2010 as they were protesting against the factory that did not give their salary for three months, in Toul Kak commune, Daun Penh district, Phnom Penh.

The demonstration, which led to such violence, resulted from Jin Chan Chinese owner attempted to run away and left about 400 workers with 3-month-owed salary of about $50 each.

Ms. Vang Sinath, a victim of the event, told the Radio Free Asia, published on January 15, 2010 that the factory went bankruptcy. The boss did not give the rest of their salary they had worked for the last three months. Therefore workers gathered together in order to stop an attempt to move out the garment factory’s assets.

She also added that lots of district policemen holding shocking sticks, shields and some weapons threatened and ordered them to move away to make way for them to transport the materials out. However, when the workers disagreed they started pushing them away and assaulted some 40 of them.

For this reason, another worker Ms. Cheng Sokleang said that the boss and the factory owner, Mrs. Sok Cheng, alia Sok Khoeun had conspired together to sell the equipments out as the factory was bankrupt.

Norng Samnang, the coordinator for the Youth Union Federation, who also monitored the case, said that the workers were filing complaints with Phnom Penh Municipal Court against the foctory employer in order to solve the problem for them.

However the above act of those police officers really breached the Cambodian Constitutinal Law about the role, duty and responsibility of authority to protect people. The act also violated the freedoms of assembly and expression. Therefore the Cambodian government has to take immediate action in order to bring the perpetrators to justice and provide assistance to those workers so that they can get back their salary as saying in the Cambodian Labor Law.