Stampede victims in Cambodia receive donation from [Hun Mana's Bayon ] TV funds

Hun Mana, Hun Xen's daughter and owner of Bayon TV

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Families of 83 victims of stampede accident who originally lived in Phnom Penh received donations from TV funds on Wednesday.

The distribution of the donations by generous people across the country and abroad collected by Bayon Television, was presented by Hun Mana, director general of Bayon Television and a daughter of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Other government officials who also presented the gift on behalf of the prime minister included Kep Chuptema, governor of Phnom Penh.

Each of the 83 victims in Phnom Penh received 7 million riel ( about 1,700 U.S. dollars), and additional 3,561 U.S. dollars.

The distribution of the donations in cash was the first time in a series of distributions around the country until all 351 victims by the accident receive them.

Similar fund is being collected by Cambodian Television Network (CTN).

Prime Minister Hun Sen said each victim might receive about 12, 000 U.S. dollars through donations from all sources including the 5 million riel (about 1,200 U.S. dollars) provided by the government.

A total of 351 people died and 395 others were injured by the stampede which occurred on Nov. 22 at Diamond Island Bridge in Phnom Penh on the last day of a three-day water festival in the country.

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[Abhisit's] Democrats off the hook

Prime Minister and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, left, and Democrat chief adviser and former prime minister Chuan Leekpai smile after hearing the Constitution Court dismiss the case against the party. APICHIT JINAKUL

Donation case now looks shaky, say legal experts

30/11/2010
King-Oua Laohong and Manop Thip-Osod
Bangkok Post

Speculation is rife that the Democrat Party will also win the case against it of an alleged illegal donation after the Constitution Court spared it from dissolution by dismissing a charge of misuse of an election grant.

Six Constitution Court judges yesterday voted 4:2 to drop the case in which the party was accused by the Election Commission of misusing a 29 million baht grant from the EC during its campaigning for the April 2, 2005, general election.

The four judges who decided to throw out the case argued that the EC chairman, as the political party registrar, had failed - as required under the Political Parties Act - to submit the case to the court within 15 days of being notified that the grant might have been misused.

A source from the Constitution Court said the two judges who voted against dismissing the case were Chat Cholaworn, the court president, and Boonsong Kulbuppa.

The judges said the allegation that the party misused the grant came to the attention of the political parties registrar on Dec 17 last year, but the registrar only submitted the case to the court on April 26 this year.

This went beyond the 15-day time frame for submission of the case. This meant the move to dissolve the Democrats was unlawful and therefore there was no need to deliberate the rest of the legal issues related to the case, the judges said.

Chuan Leekpai, the head of the Democrats' defence team, made the closing statement on behalf of the party. Kittinant Thachpramuk, public prosecutor in charge of special litigation, made the closing statement on behalf of the EC.

Parinya Thewanarumitkul, deputy rector of Thammasat University, said the EC's failure to comply with the 15-day time frame was unexpected and was an important lesson for the EC.

Even though the case has now been dropped, members of the public are still in the dark over whether the Democrat Party had actually misused the grant, Mr Parinya said.

He said the court ruling yesterday might have implications on the other case in which the Democrat Party is accused of receiving an undisclosed donation of 258 million baht from cement giant TPI Polene.

Mr Parinya said the Democrat-led coalition government would face mounting pressure from its opponents, including the red shirt movement and the Puea Thai Party, now the court has spared it from dissolution.

He said the charter court has now freed itself from any predicament as the pressure has been shifted to the EC which failed to submit the case in time.

Komsan Photikong, a law lecturer at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, said the EC's procedures seeking the dissolution of the party were unlawful from the beginning.

The Constitution Court judges' decision to dismiss the case against the Democrat Party was right and legitimate, Mr Komsan said.

He agreed that anti-government protests would intensify as the government's opponents were disgruntled with the court's decision.

Bandit Siriphan, a member of the Democrat Party's defence team, said he would ask the Constitution Court to consider dismissing the case involving the alleged illegal donation from TPI Polene as the EC had also failed to submit the case in time as required by law. The 15-day time frame and the proceedings in the case involving the 29 million baht grant were based on Section 93 of the constitution.

But Thanapit Moolapruek, director-general of the Office of the Attorney-General's special litigation department, said the flaws in the case involving the 29 million baht grant would not be repeated in the 258 million baht donation allegation as the grounds to proceed in these two cases were different.

"These two cases differ in nature and in legal technicalities and legal proceedings. The Office of the Attorney-General has submitted the case involving the 258 million baht donation itself," Mr Thanapit said.

EC commissioner Somchai Juengprasert admitted the EC may have to review its role as an organisation following the court's decision.

He said EC members may raise the issue for discussion at today's meeting to find out why things turned out the way they had.

Senator for Si Sa Ket Jittipoj Wiriyaroj, who chairs a senate committee on constitutional organisations, said some legal experts and members of the public still questioned why the court ruling focused on only one legal technicality and then decided to drop the case.

He called on the judges to disclose their reasons for dismissing the charge of misuse of the fund money to dispel lingering public doubt.

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Injured Phnom Penh crush survivor regains conciousness after 60 hours

Sinara Rim was perhaps the first man to fall in the tragic bridge crush in Phnom Penh. He regained consciousness in hospital 60 hours later. With extensive injuries he remains hospitalised and is partially paralyzed. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 26/11/2010.

Sinara Rim was perhaps the first man to fall in the tragic bridge crush in Phnom Penh. He regained consciousness in hospital 60 hours later. With extensive injuries he remains hospitalised and is partially paralyzed.

26th of November 2010

Demotix

Sinara Rim, 27-years-old, was walking across the diamond bridge around 9.30pm on the last evening of Cambodia’s water festival. A group of men were walking in the opposite direction.

“We were in the centre of the bridge when a man coming towards me pushed me and I fell down. I cannot get up,” he tells me as he sits on his hospital bed this afternoon.

“I woke up in [Calmette] hospital on Thursday at 7am,” he continues. “I feel very lucky to be alive.”

“I hurt all over and cannot move my right arm. I cannot move my right leg very much.” Before I am asked to leave the hospital he tells me that: “I have been given 4 million Riel for help [$1000], food and hospital are no charge.”

Sinara was unconscious for around 60 hours and survived the crush and stampede on the diamond bridge which killed 347 people. His friend Sopheap Sam, 28, who did not wish to be photographed tells me that she is: “so very happy he alive [sic]”.

Reliable local sources inform me that: “initial footage on Cambodia’s ‘Beyon TV’,” owned by a close relative of Cambodia’s PM, at 11.20pm showed “grainy and poor quality images of men apparently fighting in the centre of the bridge before the stampede was triggered”. This footage, probably from a mobile phone, was not used in later broadcasts. The owner of this TV company is also heavily involved with the development of, and property ownership on Diamond Island.

Sinara Rim has no memory of the ensuing stampede or of anyone falling before he fell and it’s certain that he was one of the first to be caught up in the horrific and tragic crush. Perhaps the bodies which fell around him saved his life. We will never know. My translator who wishes to remain anonymous comments as we leave: “this guy may never get better or be able to use his right arm again. What will he do for work? What are his prospects now?”

Meanwhile today, many more flower tributes piled up at the entrance to the bridge to commemorate the hundreds of dead and injured.

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Condolences from "La Press Cambodgienne du Canada" (Cambodian News in Ca

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Mr. Ouch Leng's Urgent Appeal for Fact Finding of Justice for Hundreds Innocent Dead and Injured in the night of the 22nd Nov 2010

By Ouch Leng

On behalf of victim’s family, Human Rights Defenders in Cambodia and all over the world I am pleased to appeal to all compatriots, national and international media, embassy, human rights and democracy practitioners, justice makers, politicians, NGO, OI, UN; to take action in fact finding even though there have been information or a lot of rumor said that they were died and injured vitally by suffocation, footing each other or by electrocution. Notwithstanding that they are human being not the animals; their spirits need meaningfulness for their lives and fair reason of death. As we can see on the CNN, Phnom Penh Post news and other news around the world broadcasted and shown the motive of the incident. These are also the evidence to be background for a criminal investigation, forensic analysis. Therefore please all criminal police both Cambodian and Interpol, FBI, CSI investigate with transparency and independence to bring justice for innocent victims.

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