VZCZCXRO9236
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0194/01 0841030
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251030Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0538
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000194 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, G/TIP, AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KTIP KWMN KJUS CB
SUBJECT: DPM SAR KHENG SAYS LY VOUCH LENG INVESTIGATION 
ONGOING DESPITE COURT DECISION TO CLOSE CASE 
 
REF: A. PHNOM PENH 131 
     ¶B. 07 PHNOM PENH 1059 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISSEMINATION. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  During a March 24 meeting with the 
Ambassador, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister of 
Interior Sar Kheng stated that he, the Ministry of Interior, 
and the police are not pleased with the recent appointment of 
former Appeals Court President Ly Vouch Leng to a legal 
counsel position with the Council of Ministers.  The DPM 
stated that despite a Phnom Penh Municipal Court decision to 
close the court case involving Ly Vouch Leng because of a 
lack of evidence of corruption in connection with a 
trafficking in persons case, Prime Minister Hun Sen decided 
that a police investigation into the corruption allegation 
should continue.  The DPM remarked that the Ly Vouch Leng 
case is a manifestation of the need for larger-scale judicial 
reform in Cambodia beyond the scope of just 
trafficking-in-persons cases.  End Summary. 
 
Sar Kheng Not Pleased With Ly Vouch Leng Appointment; 
Investigation Continues 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) During a March 24 meeting with the Ambassador, DPM 
Sar Kheng stated that the recent appointment of former 
Appeals Court President Ly Vouch Leng negatively affects the 
reputation of the RGC, in particular after all of the RGC's 
persistent efforts over the past two years to combat 
trafficking in persons (TIP).  He stated that he personally, 
as well as the rest of the MOI and members of the police, are 
not pleased with the decision to give Ly Vouch Leng a staff 
position as a legal counsel to the Council of Ministers.  The 
DPM stated that Prime Minister Hun Sen recently granted him 
permission to call a meeting with Ministry of Justice (MOJ) 
and court officials to gather exact information regarding why 
Ly Vouch Leng was not charged with corruption by the Phnom 
Penh Municipal Court, and for the police to continue 
investigating the corruption allegation.  The DPM stated that 
police will take the case to the court again, providing they 
can bring to light further evidence to challenge the Phnom 
Penh Municipal Court findings. 
 
Case Closed by Phnom Penh Municipal Court 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In response to the Ambassador's request to the MOJ 
for information regarding the status of the court case 
involving Ly Vouch Leng (Ref A), the Phnom Penh Municipal 
Court reported that the case was closed in September 2008 for 
lack of evidence.  According to the court's statement, the 
only evidence presented in the case was witness testimony, 
with one witness stating that he accompanied Chhun Poch, the 
father of Chhay Hour II perpetrator Te Pao Ly (Ref B), to Ly 
Vouch Leng's house where Chhun Poch handed an envelope to Ly 
Vouch Leng and asked her to "look after his son."  Chhun Poch 
was reported to have later told the witness that USD 30,000 
was in the envelope.  It was this witness's word against the 
testimony of Chhun Poch and Ly Vouch Leng who denied giving 
and taking the bribe, respectively.  Chhun Poch testified to 
the court that he never met with Ly Vouch Leng.  A separate 
witness also discredited the incriminating testimony by 
giving a different version of events, supporting Chhun Poch's 
statements that he had tried to meet with Ly Vouch Leng at 
the Appeals Court, not at her house.  The charges of bribery 
against Chhun Poch were dropped, and no charges of corruption 
were brought against Ly Vouch Leng when the case was closed. 
The DPM stated that although the RGC suspected corruption by 
Ly Vouch Leng, when it came to gathering evidence, the 
investigating judge could not produce sufficient evidence to 
charge the former Appeals Court president.  The DPM 
maintained that the Appeals Court overturning of the Phnom 
Penh Municipal Court's judgment against the Chhay Hour II 
perpetrators was a mistake.  (Note:  After the Appeals Court 
decision and release of the two Chhay Hour II perpetrators, 
the prosecutor appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, 
and the perpetrators were re-arrested and remain behind bars 
to this day.  End Note.) 
 
Ly Vouch Leng Case Highlights Need for Judicial Reform 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The DPM stated that he believes the situation 
involving Ly Vouch Leng demonstrates the need for further 
attention to judicial reform efforts in Cambodia.  The 
corruption allegation is a manifestation of larger-scale 
problems with the judiciary, going beyond the limited sphere 
of anti-trafficking in persons efforts.  The DPM remarked 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000194  002 OF 002 
 
 
that other areas of the RGC are seeing reform, but that the 
judiciary has been left behind.  He said that a case like 
this would also be positively impacted by judicial reform 
efforts.  The DPM stated several times that he wished he had 
known beforehand about Ly Vouch Leng's appointment as staff 
to the Council of Ministers because then he could have "done 
something" to stop the appointment.  As it is, the 
appointment was announced by royal decree and could not be 
reversed, he said. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) This case reminds us of the DPM's limitations as he 
works to eliminate TIP in Cambodia in the midst of entrenched 
corruption.  Even in corruption cases in the U.S. evidence of 
corruption is hard to come by, often requiring wiretapping 
and other sophisticated evidence-collection methods. 
Nonetheless, the DPM agreed with the Ambassador's statement 
that Ly Vouch Leng's continued work within the government 
detracts from Cambodia's reputation, and said he will have 
police continue to investigate the case as part of the RGC's 
responsibility to combat TIP.  Regarding the DPM's statements 
that he possibly could have "done something" if he had 
received details earlier, we believe this is the DPM's 
reference to the failure of other government bodies to check 
corruption.  Given the country's systemic corruption 
problems, Cambodia's journey to eliminate TIP will be a long 
and arduous one, but it seems that the DPM and others in the 
RGC believe the journey is worth it in order to achieve the 
goal. 
RODLEY