General Mackevili wrote:

kiwiincambodia wrote:
I notice the newspaper didn’t provide a source either for this expat based forum. Poor journalism on their part....

It seems that the article from smh.com that The Old Forum used didn't provide a source, but the article in The Guardian did.

And we got called a "blog" again.

Fancho wrote: ↑Tue Apr 10, 2018 4:55 am On Monday 9th, at 11P.M, between 20 and 30 cops surrounded the Soul Train in Siem Reap, known as the Reggae Bar.

For 3 hours, cops blocked the Little Pub Street and were investigating the bar. During that time, customers had to stay into the bar and no one was allowed to go out or in from the Reggae Bar.

Around 2P.M, a Police minivan left the place with around 15 foreigners inside. They were all customers of the bar, probably tourists having a drink at this famous Siem Reap venue. There is no clue to know where they have been brought.

Few minutes after, owners and the staff have been deported into a Police Lexus.

No more information for now. But the bar has been closed with a police lock and a Police car was parking in front, with two policemen checking the closed door.

Gavin Mac I hear she hates Jews.

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Thu Apr 12, 2018 7:59 pm
That's an intriguing haul: Two large bags of plant stalks, a large bag of rolling papers, 25 marijuana cigarettes, a rasta grinder, nine bottles of homemade stalk juice and two telephones.

Australian Rachel Prins facing five years in Cambodian jail if guilty

Jakarta: An Australian woman charged by Cambodian police with drug possession and trafficking is facing up to five years in jail if she is convicted.
Rachel Prins, 59, from Brisbane is one of five people arrested by police in the tourist town of Siem Reap on Monday night at the Soul Train Reggae Bar, which she owns.
Ms Prins, who also goes by the name of Pixie Rose, her Cambodian boyfriend and their three colleagues face an anxious wait of between three and six months in a provincial prison before their case returns to court for trial.

Siem Reap is a popular destination for backpackers travelling to Cambodia, with a lively bar and restaurant scene. It also serves as the gateway to the historic temples at Angkor Wat.

The arrest and charging of the Australian woman comes just a couple of months after ten foreign tourists were arrested for producing allegedly "pornographic" photos, which were then posted on social media, during a party in Siem Reap back in January.

Organisers of the party described the event as a pub crawl and the ten people in question were clothed in the images. The ten tourists were eventually deported with one, Daniel Jones, found guilty.

Taken together, the two incidents - and that of Australian man James Ricketson, who has been accused of being a foreign spy and has been languishing in prison for 10 months awaiting trial - raise questions about the safety of western tourists travelling to Cambodia.

Cambodia is due to hold national elections in July and the country's strongman leader prime minister HE, has in recent months arrested leading opposition figures.

The elections are widely expected to be neither free nor fair and the government is expected to retain power easily. The regime has also cracked down on civil society groups and what remains of the free press in recent months.

Fairfax Media has communicated with a number of expats in Siem Reap and the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh in recent days.

None would speak on the record for fear of incurring the ill-favour of the increasingly oppressive regime but, to a person, they confirmed western expats were increasingly fearful about the crack down on dissent and the country's ever-more authoritarian bent.

Meanwhile Mr In Song, the deputy director of the Cambodian government's Anti-Drug Department confirmed the five people arrested at the Siem Reap bar, including Ms Prins, had been charged with drug possession and trafficking.

Charges have been laid against Ms Prins under article 40 of the law on drug control.

Mr In Song told Fairfax Media the five were "now detained at the Siem Reap provincial prison. They may face a jail sentence of two years minimum", though if found guilty the length of their sentence will depend on the marijuana they are found to have possessed.

"The Australian [Ms Prins] is the owner of the restaurant [bar]. If the location's owner is deliberately providing the location for drug use or trafficking, she shall be [found] guilty" he said, through a translator. "According to article 40 of the law on drug control the sentence [if guilty] is between two years to five years"

Asked if the arrests could cause a decline in the number of tourists coming to Cambodia, Mr In Song said: "I don't think so. The tourists will feel secure instead".

Photos of Ms Prins and four other suspects published on the Facebook page of local police showed a table apparently laden with the drugs that had been seized.

An SRNews online report listed dried marijuana, 25 marijuana joints, several bags and marijuana soaked in 10 bottles of wine as among the items seized.

There have been suggestions in online expat forums that Ms Prins made herself a target by mildly criticising the HE regime in an article published in the Phnom Penh Post back in February.

The Soul Train Reggae Bar’s Facebook page features photos of several people smoking what appears to be marijuana.

There are also multiple pictures of a woman who looks identical to Ms Prins, tagged under the name "Pixie Rose", on the page.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed it is offering consular assistance to an Australian being detained by Cambodian authorities but has declined to comment further.

Cambodia does not enforce the death penalty for illegal drug use but its prisons are notorious for their harsh conditions.

Fairfax Media has sought comment from Ms Prins, who has not responded, and her family, who have declined to comment.

John Bingham wrote: ↑Wed Apr 11, 2018 7:27 pm

RACHEL DENISE PRINS, 59 years old,

I guess she looks well for that age, but what the hell is she smiling about?

prahocalypse now wrote: ↑Fri Apr 13, 2018 8:12 am

John Bingham wrote: ↑Wed Apr 11, 2018 7:27 pm

RACHEL DENISE PRINS, 59 years old,

I guess she looks well for that age, but what the hell is she smiling about?

In close up and without make up, she looks close to her age.