Government Impounds ABC Radio’s Ambulance

BY KUCH NAREN | AUGUST 13, 2016 | អានជាភាសាខ្មែរ

Health officials in Phnom Penh have impounded an ambulance belonging to the popular ABC radio station, saying the vehicle had neither the proper registration nor necessary medical personnel, and was instead being used to peddle guava juice.

Sok Sokun, director of the municipal health department, said on Friday that officials were also planning to sue the station’s outspoken owner, Seng Bunveng, for referring to department staff as “beasts” in the wake of the ambulance seizure.



ABC claims the ambulance is used for humanitarian purposes.

The episode is just the latest controversy surrounding Mr. Bun­veng, a media mogul who founded ABC in 2008 and who on the eve of the 2013 national election warned that “blood will flow” if the opposition CNRP assumed power.

City health officials stopped the ambulance near the Prampi Ma­kara overpass in Tuol Kok district on Thursday morning, suspicious that it was operating illegally, according to Mr. Sokun.

“We found that it’s an unregistered ambulance and that it did not have permission from the Ministry of Health [to operate], contravening ministry guidelines and health standards,” he said.

Full-story...https://www.cambodiadaily.com/topstory/ ... ce-116612/

The Prime Minister Ordered The Phnom Penh City Deputy Governor To Return The Impounded Ambulance Back to ABC

Phnom Penh: the prime minister of Cambodia, has ordered Mr Khoung Sreng, Phnom Penh city deputy director to return back the ambulance back to ABC Radio after it was impounded on 11 August 2016.

The prime minister's order was laid out after one facebook user named Sophea Khith asked the prime minister to intervene in the case. "Samdach please help intervene the case in which ABC's ambulance was impounded. The accusation from municipal department of health meant to slander the radio. If you allow the director of the department to do something like this, we would lose our belief on you. Regards".

The prime minister replied back in the comment section " I ordered the deputy director of Phnom Penh city Khoung Sreng to return back the ambulance" Please help inform Aja A".

http://www.freshnewsasia.com/index.php/ ... 02-16.html

The Prime Minster Ordered Stripping Off The Department's Director from His Position After Impounding ABC's Ambulance

Phnom Penh: On 13 August 2016, the prime minister of Cambodia, HE, had called ABC Radio by himself to inform the he will remove Mr. Sok Sokun from his position as the director of municipal department of health.

link contains the audio conversation

http://www.freshnewsasia.com/index.php/ ... 24-25.html

PM Ousts Director Over Ambulance Ordeal

by Ben Sokhean | August 15, 2016

Prime Minister HE on Sunday defended his decision to return an unlicensed ambulance to ABC radio and remove the municipal health director who ordered its seizure, arguing that the ambulance was used for humanitarian purposes and the official had overstepped his authority.

Mr. HE’s salvo, posted to his Facebook page, marked his latest involvement in the case involving the juice-peddling ambulance, its owner, an outspoken media mogul nicknamed “Aja A,” and a surprise on-air telephone call.

full-story....https://www.cambodiadaily.com/topstory/ ... al-116652/

Apparently, Aja A, a Khmerican tycoon is beyond rude, PM might be regret jumping into this case which caused the public outcry.

Media Mogul Declares Victory Over Government ‘Monkeys’

by Ben Sokhean and Ben Paviour | August 17, 2016 | អានជាភាសាខ្មែរ

The owner of Cambodia’s popular ABC radio station expressly declined to thank Prime Minister HE for donating three “intervention vehicles” to the station’s humanitarian arm, likening the seizure and abrupt return of an unlicensed ABC ambulance to a war victory and describing government bureaucrats as “monkeys.”

The comments made by Seng Bunveng, a controversial businessman and radio host better known as “Aja A,” capped off a turbulent five days that began when Phnom Penh health officials impounded an ABC ambulance on Thursday because it lacked the necessary licensing, equipment and medical personnel to operate as an emergency vehicle—and was being used to transport guava juice sold by the station.


ABC radio owner Seng Bunveng speaks to reporters and supporters during a ceremony at Phnom Penh City Hall on Tuesday. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)

ABC claimed the ambulance was also used to transport corpses for poor families and relief supplies during natural disasters, and fans took to the airwaves to defend the station’s use of the vehicle.

Municipal health department director Sok Sokun responded by threatening to sue Mr. Bunveng for calling his staff “beasts” for seizing the ambulance.

On Saturday, the prime minister stepped into the fray, calling in to ABC to announce on air that Mr. Sokun would be stripped of his position and promising the vehicle’s return, and the donation of two more. On Monday, he appointed Mr. Sokun deputy director of the Health Ministry’s technical health department—an apparent demotion.

During a ceremony at City Hall on Tuesday, Mr. Bunveng accepted two new 12-seater vans and a pickup truck paid for by Mr. HE, but declined to thank his benefactor.

“I did not come here today to thank Samdech Techo,” he told a crowd of selfie-snapping onlookers, using an honorific for the prime minister.

Full-story....https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/medi ... ys-116782/