The victim’s name was Long Chunleng, 25, living in the aforementioned area, reported by the police that he was dead of a seizure due to the primary examination on his body.
Mr. Mav Chantha, Kandal Provincial Police Chief said that the man was really dead of a seizure. In addition, Mr. Soam Saran, provincial forensics bureau chief, also confirmed the same reason of the case. He said based on the examination by his staff on the body, it showed that the victim died of a seizure.
However, the victim’s relatives did not agree with the authorities at all. They alleged suspected that the death was likely because of the police violence, which witnesses said, committed at the scene of the arrest.
One of the witnesses, Mr. Sok Ratha, the victim’s cousin, claimed he saw the police officers use handcuffs to beat Long Chunleng, as the men came to break up a fight between his cousin and another man at the wedding.
Emphasizing to this claim, the victim’s father Mr. Pao Long said the two policemen, Chhel Sarat and Sun Vantha brutally beat his son, adding that he had bruises all over his uppor body, around his chest; and blood flowing for his ears and nose. Anyway Mr. Pao Long also said that his son did not use to have a story of seizures before. He requested the authorities to examine his son for a second time to make sure whether police brutality was the cause of death.
According to Mr. Chheng Sophors, a senior investigator for the human rights group Licadho, who directly investigated the case, said he suspected the claim by those authorities because there were bruises all over his body and blood running out of his ears and nose. Furthermore, the request of Chunleng’s father to have anther check done on his son was dismissed due to the same assertation.
Related to above case, it is hard to believe that the man was dead of a seizure because it is known in general that people that die of seizues do not have bruises all over the bodies; and there is no blood coming out of ears and nose. Then the bruises and blood from ears and nose may be caused by any act of torture or sanction. Therefore in this case, there are witnesses, who have seen the police officers beating the victim. This act is prohibited by the international laws; especially the Univeral Declaration on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Rights Against Torture; and the Cambodian Constitutional Law because it violates human rights; especially right to life.
According to Code of Criminal Procedure of Cambodia, perpetrators shall be sentenced up to 20 years in prison.
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