VZCZCXRO1981
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0131/01 0561052
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251052Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0448
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000131 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, G/TIP, AND DRL 
USAID FOR ASIA BUREAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF KTIP KWMN CB
SUBJECT: JUSTICE MINISTER COMMENTS ON LY VOUCH LENG'S NEW 
POSITION DO NOT INSPIRE CONFIDENCE 
 
REF: A. PHNOM PENH 114 
     ¶B. 07 PHNOM PENH 1059 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000131  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  During a courtesy call with Minister of 
Justice Ang Vong Vathana on February 25, the Ambassador 
expressed concern over the recent news that former Appeals 
Court President and member of the Supreme Council of the 
Magistracy Ly Vouch Leng was recently appointed as a legal 
counsel to the Council of Ministers.  Ly Vouch Leng was 
removed from her former positions by an August 2007 royal 
decree over serious allegations of corruption related to the 
Chhay Hour II brothel TIP case -- she allegedly accepted USD 
30,000 for the release of the two convicted brothel owners. 
The Minister responded to the Ambassador's inquiry regarding 
the status of an ongoing investigation into the corruption 
allegation by stating that the Ministry of Justice is 
"waiting for a court judgment" and that the order issuing Ly 
Vouch Leng's removal does not prohibit her from continuing to 
work in the government.  Regarding TIP arrests being lower 
during the April to December 2008 reporting period compared 
to the same period in 2007, the Ambassador communicated our 
understanding that the February 2008 enactment of the Law on 
the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation 
without prior training on the law had negatively impacted 
courts' abilities to successfully prosecute TIP cases.  She 
nonetheless strongly encouraged the Ministry of Justice to 
work with the courts to increase prosecution efforts as a 
signal of continued commitment to combat TIP.  End Summary. 
 
Ly Vouch Leng Appointed as Council of Ministers Staff 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Post has confirmed that the former Cambodia Appeals 
Court President and member of the Supreme Council of the 
Magistracy Ly Vouch Leng has been appointed as a legal 
counselor to the Council of Ministers.  The Ministry of 
Interior (MOI) reported in August 2007 that an MOI 
investigation committee found evidence that Ly Vouch Leng 
accepted more than USD 30,000 in bribes in exchange for the 
release of two TIP perpetrators arrested in connection with 
the high-profile Chhay Hour II brothel case (Ref B).  As a 
result of the MOI findings, the King issued a royal decree 
removing Ly Vouch Leng from her positions, and in both public 
and private statements, Prime Minister Hun Sen and other RGC 
officials stated that the Chhay Hour II investigation was 
"not finished."  Despite our numerous inquiries to the MOI 
and Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for information regarding the 
investigation, including an April 2008 request letter from 
the Ambassador to the Justice Minister, the RGC has not 
produced any information regarding the status of the 
investigation.  In addition to raising our concerns during 
her February 25 meeting with Minister of Justice Ang Vong 
Vathana, the Ambassador sent a letter to Deputy Prime 
Minister Sar Kheng expressing dismay over the news of Ly 
Vouch Leng's new government position, and again requesting 
information on the status of the investigation. 
 
Justice Minister "No Friend of Ly Vouch Leng" 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Ambassador's expression of concern over Ly 
Vouch Leng's recent appointment was met with the Minister's 
circumlocutions that Ly Vouch Leng's new position is not a 
promotion; the MOJ itself is reserving judgment on the former 
court president until the investigating court has made a 
final decision in her case; and, the decree removing her from 
her former positions did not stipulate that she could no 
longer work in the government.  After his defense of Ly Vouch 
Leng's assuming a new government position, Ang Vong Vathana 
asserted that he does not wish to be associated with Ly Vouch 
Leng and implied that the feeling is mutual when he stated 
that the former judge did not show up to work when she was 
transferred to the MOJ after her Appeals Court removal.  He 
stated that the court case regarding the allegations is still 
proceeding, and if there is a finding of corruption, that Ly 
Vouch Leng will be punished.  However, he did not offer to 
follow up on the Ambassador's request for information. 
 
Minister Blames Lower TIP Convictions on Police 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  As reported in post's 2009 Cambodia TIP report 
(Ref A), Cambodian courts convicted no fewer than 14 TIP 
perpetrators in the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, and seven in 
provincial courts from April to December 2008.  In addition, 
Cambodian courts convicted four foreign pedophiles during the 
same period.  In order to match the more than 50 TIP and 
pedophile convictions reported for the entire 2008 TIP 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000131  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
reporting period (April 2007 to March 2008), courts would 
have to prosecute approximately 25 related cases from January 
to March 2009.  Based on preliminary information from the 
MOJ, we believe there may have been no TIP convictions in 
January 2009.  The Ambassador urged Minister Ang Vong Vathana 
to emphasize the need for continued high levels of TIP 
prosecutions in the courts as a sign of the RGC's sustained 
commitment to eliminate TIP in Cambodia.  The Minister 
averred that the problem actually lies with the police -- if 
the police are not enforcing the law by arresting 
perpetrators, then the courts have no one to prosecute. 
(Comment:  Post believes that slow or ineffectual 
investigations by the civil-law courts are a major problem, 
also.  End comment.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) We are confounded by the appointment of Ly Vouch 
Leng as a legal counsel to the Council of Ministers.  We 
believe it is likely that a high-level CPP member made the 
decision to appoint Ly Vouch Leng to her new staff position, 
possibly believing that there had been sufficient a "cooling 
off" period on the part of TIP observers and that there would 
be indifference to her working at a low level within the 
government.  Ly Vouch Leng is known for being well-connected 
within the government, and she would have had access to the 
highest levels to solicit for a new position.  However, the 
relevance of a royal decree that is handed down by the 
Supreme Council of the Magistracy in order to remove someone 
based on criminal corruption allegations is lost when the RGC 
argues that it now must rely on a lower court to validate the 
findings of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy to truly 
remove the corrupt official from government work. 
RODLEY