August 11, 2020
Provincial police chief accused of sexual harassment

A GROUP of female police officers have filed a complaint with the Interior Ministry alledging multiple cases of sexual harrasment by Kampong Thom Provincial Police Chief Major General Ouk Kosal.

In their complaint, dated July 30, the women provincial police officers asked Interior Minister Sar Kheng to help them find justice and take action against Maj Gen Kosal.

The complaint said Maj Gen Kosal approached various female officers from different ranks demanding sex, while warning them they would face serious consequences if they told anyone.

The complaint also requested that Kheng investigate the allegations of female victims personally, to highlight the seriousness of the complaint and the damage caused to the women and their bodies by the Police Chief.

The group added that the actions of Maj Gen Kosal have seriously insulted the integrity of Cambodian women and the department’s professionalism.

Maj Gen Kosal could not be reached for comment.

General Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, yesterday told Khmer Times that the Ministry had received the complaint and officials in charge of personnel are currently investigating the allegations.

“We need to properly investigate the case first and not jump to conclusions. People should not make assumptions, we will investigate and in due course reach our decision,” he said.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50753554/p ... arassment/

“We need to properly investigate the case first and not jump to conclusions. People should not make assumptions,

Read: "We will be determining how capable the Major General is of making this all go away and reciprocate accordingly."

Kung-fu Hillbilly wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2020 6:29 pm

“We need to properly investigate the case first and not jump to conclusions. People should not make assumptions,

Read: "We will be determining how capable the Major General is of making this all go away and reciprocate accordingly."

I bet the Major General will be 'promoted' somewhere else.

Good for them, it can't be easy in this country for women to stand up to abuse.

August 14, 2020 / 1:33 PM / Updated 4 hours ago
Cambodia police chief stood down in 'unprecedented' sex abuse investigation
Matt Blomberg
4 Min Read

PHNOM PENH (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A high-ranking Cambodian police official has been suspended from duties pending an investigation into “unprecedented” allegations of sexual misconduct made by four junior female officers that hit the headlines, according to the interior ministry.

The two-star major general and provincial police chief is accused of forcing officers to perform sex acts at work under the threat of blocking their progress in the police force.

Previous complaints against the police chief were met with ridicule and threats, the four women said in a complaint to the Interior Minister Sar Kheng, which was dated July 30 and leaked to the press on August 10.

The police chief was stood down on Wednesday, according to a statement signed by the minister. An Interior Ministry spokesman declined to add further comment on Friday.

The case has hit headlines in Cambodia during an escalating public debate over the treatment of women in Cambodia, where a draft law to restrict what women can wear has raised concerns of further entrenching a culture of victim blaming in sex crimes.

“This case should serve as a reminder that sexual harassment and violence against women should not be met with silence or impunity, as it has been for too long,” said Chak Sopheap, head of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights charity.

“These unprecedented allegations come at a time when women’s rights are making headlines in Cambodia for all the wrong reasons.”

Last week Cambodian women flooded social media with photos of themselves in swimwear to protest a proposed law that would allow police to fine women for wearing clothing deemed too skimpy and men for going shirtless.

The draft law has been billed as necessary to preserve Cambodian culture, but women’s right campaigners fear it could be used disproportionately to target women in the conservative Southeast Asian nation.

A woman was jailed in April after Prime Minister HE called for authorities to track down online vendors using “provocative” sales techniques, which he said sullied Cambodia’s culture and encouraged sexual harassment.

Advocacy groups praised the four women police officers who lodged the complaint for their courage and called for them to be protected while the investigation was underway.

“The women’s affairs ministry needs to be involved, to ensure the safety of these women,” said Chim Channeang, general secretary at NGO-CEDAW, a charity focused on gender equality.

“The government has made its commitments to ending violence against women. Now it’s time to show the public it is serious.”
Full article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-camb ... H9?rpc=401&

Accused Police Chief Calls Sexual Abuse Complaint a Plot to Oust Him
3 min read
Ouch Sony
Fri Aug 14, 2020 7:11 pm

The suspended chief of the Kampong Thom provincial police has said unverified sexual abuse allegations against him from several female police officers were part of a conspiracy to get him removed from his position.

Ouk Kosal, who was suspended this week, says in a video published by government-aligned media portal Fresh News on Friday that he was being framed by unnamed individuals, and that reports about his alleged physical and verbal abuse against women tarnished the honor of female officers, police across the country and himself.

“It is a systematic plot in order to topple me from the position of provincial police chief,” Kosal says in the 18-minute video.

He does not directly deny the allegations against him, which were detailed in an unverified complaint letter signed by six women and leaked to reporters last week.

The document describes graphic incidents of sexual abuse, accusing Kosal of pressuring female subordinates to masturbate him in his office, touching their breasts and genitals, and threatening them to tell no one or face unspecified problems.

In the video, Kosal says that since he started as the deputy provincial police chief in 2015 he has always tried to do his best at work in order to help his officers succeed and has paid attention to their well-being.
https://vodenglish.news/accused-police- ... -oust-him/

Cambodia News, (Phnom Penh): Samdech Krala Hom Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, officially announced the termination of the position of Major General Ouk Kosal, Commissioner of Kampong Thom Provincial Police on September 7, 2020.

"Please be informed that Samdech Krala Hom Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Interior, has ordered General Neth Savoeun, General Commissioner of the National Police, and Mr. Chan Ean, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Interior, as well as the Governor of Kampong Thom Province, to investigate the case of four female police officers who are accusing Major General Ouk Kosal, Provincial Police Commissioner of Kampong Thom Province, of harassment in their workplace. "

Suspension for ex-police chief, but no prosecution, as women officers decide not to press charges.

The two-star general is accused of forcing female officers to perform sex acts at work but will not be prosecuted
By Matt Blomberg

PHNOM PENH, Sept 9 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A high-ranking Cambodian police official has been sacked over sexual misconduct at work in a landmark case in the Southeast Asian nation but will not be prosecuted to "protect the dignity" of the women involved, a police official said.

Two-star general and Kampong provincial police chief Ouk Kosal was suspended last month pending an investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct made by four junior female officers that hit the headlines.

In a rare public outing of sexual misconduct by an official, he was accused of forcing the female officers to perform sex acts at work under the threat of blocking their careers.

A deputy national police chief Pen Vibol, who led the investigation, said Kosal had been sacked and would be demoted to the rank of colonel.

But he said the female officers had chosen to not press criminal charges of sexual assault, which is punishable by up to three years jail, prompting calls for the government to do so.

"This is an unprecedented case where, instead of asking our female police officers to be cautious, we need to strengthen the ethics among leaders of our police units," Vibol told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"The fact that they became victims is embarrassing enough. They are satisfied ... that justice has been delivered and they can return to work and restore their dignity."

National police spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun said there was insufficient evidence to build a criminal case against Kosal, who has maintained that he is innocent.
The women officers and Kosal could not be reached.

Pradeep Wagle, Cambodia representative for the Office of the United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Cambodia was obliged under international law to conduct a full and credible investigation and hold Kosal accountable.
https://news.trust.org/item/20200909105346-b03ib/