Charges laid over ‘forged’ certificate
ppp Mon, 23 November 2015
Pech Sotheary
CNRP official Norng Sarith and activist Sok Sam Ean pose for police photos last week. The duo were arrested for incitement and forgery over an 11-year-old birth certificate. National Police |
The
Svay Rieng Provincial Court on Saturday charged a Cambodia National
Rescue Party local official and an opposition activist with forgery and
incitement over an 11-year-old birth certificate, recently posted to
social media, that seemingly implies Svay Rieng province is in Vietnam.
The
official, Norng Sarith, 42, and activist Sok Sam Ean, 38, were arrested
on Friday over the document, which lists the location of the child in
question’s birth as “Svay Rieng, Vietnam”.
A Svay Rieng Court official, who spoke on condition anonymity, confirmed the charges.
“We have just charged them, and we will investigate this case. We do not know about their punishment yet,” he said yesterday.
Svay
Rieng provincial CNRP director Mao Vibol said that when Sarith was
making out birth certificates in 2004, there was an influx of Khmer Krom
families from southern Vietnam, which may have led to some “confusion”.
However,
he added, the document was checked and approved by ruling-party
authorities at the time as well, leading him to believe the case was
politically motivated.
“It’s
on the person who sealed the document, because [the suspects] might
have had some gaps and confusion, but they should not be punished like
this as it contradicts procedures,” Vibol said, adding that the document
was later corrected. “The commune chief who signed it and sealed it and
knew that the document was wrong; why did they still seal it? So they
should be interrogated as well.”
Sarith’s wife, Pen Vesna, seconded Vibol’s argument, calling it a case of “political spite”.
Sanh Sakhun, Bavet commune chief, could not be reached for comment.
Licadho
coordinator Nuth Bopinaroth said that the mistake was discovered and
corrected without further action in 2013, when the holder attempted to
get an ID card, and accusations of forgery were premature.
“The
political tension is getting hotter and hotter, and we observe that
when CNRP activists are involved in a small problem, they will be
detained,” he said.
“Therefore,
to avoid the political tension from getting bigger and bigger, those
CNRP activists should be bailed out with a guarantee from their attorney
[to cooperate], and the investigation should continue to be conducted.”
Authorities
are also investigating a similar case in Takeo province, though Hem
Seihak Bora, police chief in Kiri Vong district, said yesterday that
there are no results thus far.
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