‘Sorcerer’ struggling in forest
21 April 2015
Phak Seangly
An ethnic Jarai man accused of using sorcery to murder villagers in Ratanakkiri province is struggling to survive in the forest, where he has been in hiding since fleeing his home more than two weeks ago, he said yesterday.


Rocham Kin (centre), an ethnic Jarai man, stands with his family in front of his house in Ratanakkiri province. He has been hiding in the forest since April 5 after being accused of being a sorcerer. ADHOC

Forty-eight-year-old Rocham Kin left his home and family on April 5 citing fears for his safety following allegations from relatives, neighbours and local authorities that he was a sorcerer.

Kin said he was accused of using his brateal plant, which is believed to hold magical powers, to kill 12 people in the area since 2014.

“They accuse me of possessing brateal and being a wizard, [but] it is not true,” he said.

Since moving into the forest, Kin says his family has often been too scared to visit him with vital supplies such as food and water.

“They do not dare to come; if [the villagers] spot me, one will kill me,” he said. “Sometimes, I have food and sometimes, I do not.”

Kin claims he has no blanket, mat or mosquito net, and has fallen ill with high fevers.

“It is very difficult to live in the forest. My wife cries because she misses me. Please help me or else I will die in this forest,” he said.

Kin yesterday filed his second complaint of this month to local rights group Adhoc.

In the complaint, Kin says he had often been asked to pray for local people when they fell ill. But if they didn’t survive, he was accused of murder.

Adhoc’s provincial coordinator Chhay Thy said the NGO has been investigating the case and was told by authorities in Bakeo district that Kin used his magical plant to murder eight of his neighbours following an alcohol-fuelled argument in which Kin allegedly warned them that they would die.

Thy said Adhoc had appealed to locals to “respect human rights and the law”.

The incident, he added, is the eighth case the group has recorded of villagers in Ratanakkiri being accused of being sorcerers.

While Bakeo deputy police chief Sang Sok said authorities had also urged people not to attack Kin, he said he too believes he is a sorcerer.

“He has brateal and if he wants someone to die in three days, that person will die in less than three days sometimes,” he said, adding that 12 people, including Kin’s nephew, have died.

Kin was not forced into hiding, Sok added, but likely fled in fear following a spate of ‘suspicious’ deaths in the area.

Four Arrested In Attempted ‘Witch’ Killing

BY MECH DARA | APRIL 22, 2015
Four men were arrested in Ratanakkiri province’s Kon Mom district on Tuesday morning over the attempted murder of a married couple whom they accused of practicing witchcraft, police said.

The men—Nem Py, 37; Sath An, 27; Sa Pov, 23; and Sath Tieng, 19—attacked Sok Sor and Leang Sorn, both 52, with machetes late on Sunday night, district police chief Phok Burith said.

“The old man was cut on his left leg twice and his right arm once, while his wife was cut on her left leg. They were in a serious condition,” Mr. Burith said.

Trapaing Kraham commune police chief Se Sen said the wife also sustained cuts to her head and torso.

“After they tried to attack [the couple] multiple times, the machete blade fell out of its handle, so then the wife took her machete to attack them back, and one got cut in the arm,” Mr. Burith said. “They ran away after the wife was shouting and attacking them.”

The four men fled into the forest but later returned to their village, where they were apprehended, according to the district police chief.

“We arrested them this morning at 8:30 a.m. in Trapaing Kraham commune after we searched around to ask people some questions,” Mr. Burith said. “We sought them out, and after we asked them to take off their T-shirts we found that one had been injured.

“They confessed that they tried to kill the couple because they were witches and often cast spells on them to make them get sick and have fevers,” he said.

Allegations of witchcraft are still common in rural villages in the country, with villagers often blaming so-called sorcerers for unexpected events such as death or sickness, with revenge attacks often the result.

Earlier this month, a man in Ratanakkiri’s Bakeo district had to flee his home after receiving multiple death threats from villagers who accused him of using sorcery to make local men’s penises swell until they died.

Soi Dog wrote:Ratanakkiri province is rife with witches too, apparently...and the sorcerer mentioned above is accused of making penises swell (and not in a good way).

Four Arrested In Attempted ‘Witch’ Killing

BY MECH DARA | APRIL 22, 2015
Four men were arrested in Ratanakkiri province’s Kon Mom district on Tuesday morning over the attempted murder of a married couple whom they accused of practicing witchcraft, police said.

The men—Nem Py, 37; Sath An, 27; Sa Pov, 23; and Sath Tieng, 19—attacked Sok Sor and Leang Sorn, both 52, with machetes late on Sunday night, district police chief Phok Burith said.

“The old man was cut on his left leg twice and his right arm once, while his wife was cut on her left leg. They were in a serious condition,” Mr. Burith said.

Trapaing Kraham commune police chief Se Sen said the wife also sustained cuts to her head and torso.

“After they tried to attack [the couple] multiple times, the machete blade fell out of its handle, so then the wife took her machete to attack them back, and one got cut in the arm,” Mr. Burith said. “They ran away after the wife was shouting and attacking them.”

The four men fled into the forest but later returned to their village, where they were apprehended, according to the district police chief.

“We arrested them this morning at 8:30 a.m. in Trapaing Kraham commune after we searched around to ask people some questions,” Mr. Burith said. “We sought them out, and after we asked them to take off their T-shirts we found that one had been injured.

“They confessed that they tried to kill the couple because they were witches and often cast spells on them to make them get sick and have fevers,” he said.

Allegations of witchcraft are still common in rural villages in the country, with villagers often blaming so-called sorcerers for unexpected events such as death or sickness, with revenge attacks often the result.

Earlier this month, a man in Ratanakkiri’s Bakeo district had to flee his home after receiving multiple death threats from villagers who accused him of using sorcery to make local men’s penises swell until they died.

https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/four ... ing-82327/

While Bakeo deputy police chief Sang Sok said authorities had also urged people not to attack Kin, he said he too believes he is a sorcerer.

“He has brateal and if he wants someone to die in three days, that person will die in less than three days sometimes,” he said, adding that 12 people, including Kin’s nephew, have died.

Accused ‘sorcerer’ now in protective custody
Thu, 23 April 2015
Phak Seangly
An ethnic Jarai man in Ratanakkiri province who fled into the forest earlier this month following allegations that he had used sorcery to kill his neighbours was taken into protective custody yesterday.

Rocham Kin, 48, left his home on April 5 citing fears for his safety following accusations from relatives, neighbours and local authorities that he was a sorcerer and had used his brateal plant, which is believed to hold magical powers, to kill 12 people in the area since 2014.

More than two weeks in the forest with little food and water had left Kin unwell. But, he said, district and provincial authorities came to his rescue yesterday morning with money, gifts and the offer of shelter.

“I am poor, so I am very happy when the district and provincial governors help like this. If I run out of this stuff, they will help again. They have allowed me to stay with the police,” Kin said, explaining that, in addition to $100 cash, he had been given food, mosquito nets, blankets, and sleeping mats.

Kin said he has been given permission to stay in the police station for about four days, while authorities investigate his case.

Bakao District Governor Heng Bunny said that authorities would use the time to speak with local villagers, and try to put an end to the accusations.

“We will also search for the reason that villagers have fallen sick” and died, he added.

In a separate incident, four men were charged by Ratanakkiri provincial police yesterday with “intentional violence” over a brutal attack on Wednesday on a couple they had accused of being sorcerers.

“They are detained at the provincial police station for the second night and will be sent to court tomorrow,” Trapaing Kraham commune police Chief Se Sen said yesterday.