Inmates on Trial for Jail Beating
Khmer Times/Buth Reaksmey Kongkea Friday, 23 September 2016

Four Cambodian-Vietnamese men, in jail on drug charges, were tried yesterday by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court over allegations they beat a Cambodian inmate at Prey Sar prison after a dispute over a chess game in January.

The four accused were identified as Chov Yang Toeng, 48, Reth Bunnath, 34, Reth Bunlo, 45, and Nou Bunluong, 48, and the victim was identified as 38-year-old Sok Sros, all inmates at Prey Sar’s CC1 prison, according to judge Yin Saroeun.

Mr. Saroeun said the four men were charged with “intentional acts of violence with aggravating circumstances” under article 218 of the Criminal Code.

“They played chess and lost to the victim’s group. They got angry and then jointly beat the victim’s group, causing a Khmer prisoner to get seriously wounded,” he said.

The judge said that on the morning of January 25, when the inmates were allowed to go into the prison yard for exercise and work, the four accused played chess with a group of four Cambodian prisoners for money.

He said the four suspects lost and then proceeded to beat the victim’s group, resulting in serious injury to Mr. Sros. The suspects were immediately arrested by prison guards after the violence, he added.
According to court documents, the four were arrested in 2015 on charges of drug trafficking, but their cases had yet to be heard...

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/30107/ ... l-beating/

Prisoners Not Guilty of Beating
Khmer Times/Buth Reaksmey Kongkea Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Chov Yang Toeng, 48, Reth Bunnath, 34, Reth Bunlo, 45, and Nou Bunluong, 48, speaking through a translator, insisted that while they had indeed lost against a group of four Cambodian inmates while playing chess for money, and had chased them after losing with the intention of beating them up, they had not actually managed to do so and were therefore innocent of the charges.

The case had been brought by one of the alleged victims, 38-year-old Sok Sros, himself held on unspecified drug charges, with prosecutors seeking a conviction of “intentional act of violence with aggravating circumstances” under article 218 of the criminal code.

However, in this case the court deemed there was not enough evidence to prove guilt.

“Based on the hearing, they are not guilty because the court did not find enough proof to put the burden of guilt on them as they are accused,” said judge Saroeun as he read the verdict.
“Therefore, the court decided to drop their charges in the case,” he said, ordering the four back to Prey Sar to await their various still-pending drug trafficking charges.


Speaking as a prosecution witness, an unnamed prison guard said there had indeed been an assault, but that money had changed hands sometime afterwards and that had likely led to Mr. Sros seeking to drop the charges against his assailants.
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/30251/ ... f-beating/