VZCZCXRO3312
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0206 0890601
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 300601Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0554
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 000206 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, AND DRL 
USAID FOR ASIA BUREAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL KWMN KTIP SOCI CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ARRESTS FEBRUARY 21 TO 
MARCH 9, 2009 
 
Ref: PHNOM PENH 145 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  From February 21 to March 9, 2009, Cambodian 
police reported that they arrested three individuals on human 
trafficking charges.  Police reported that three foreign pedophiles 
were arrested and seven victims were rescued in connection with 
pedophile cases.  Police reported that the perpetrators are 
currently in pre-trial detention.  The Phnom Penh Municipal Court 
reported what they believed to be a human trafficking case, but the 
suit was actually a baby-selling incident, not trafficking.  End 
Summary. 
 
Police Activity 
--------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On February 22, police from the Anti-Human Trafficking and 
Juvenile Protection (AHTJP) Department of the national police 
arrested 25-year-old Ho Ngoy, male, for trafficking a nine-year-old 
female victim to 49-year-old American national Ronald Boyasian at a 
brothel in the Phnom Penh neighborhood of Svay Pak (Reftel).  Ho 
Ngoy had reportedly pimped underage victims at several brothels in 
Svay Pak.  While police reportedly only have sufficient evidence to 
charge him with the one crime involving Ronald Boyasian and not any 
of the alleged criminal activities involving other Svay Pak 
brothels, the arrest of Ho Ngoy is considered a significant 
anti-trafficking in persons arrest in the notorious Svay Pak 
neighborhood.  [Note: Ho Ngoy is a Cambodian returnee who formerly 
lived in the U.S.  The returnee committed a felony and served his 
time in a U.S. prison before he was returned to Cambodia under a 
March 2002 bilateral repatriation MOU.  End Note.]  Police reported 
that the perpetrator is currently in pre-trial detention and the 
victim was sent to World Hope International (WHI) for victim 
assistance. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) On February 24, Kandal provincial police arrested 
43-year-old Seng Chro, male, and 25-year-old Ky Chheng Rong, male, 
for attempted trafficking of 19 male and female victims aged between 
13 and 40 years from Kandal province to Thailand to work in a fish 
canning factory.  Among the 19 victims, there were five female 
victims under age 17.  Police reported that an unknown person tipped 
off the police about a recruiter's intent to traffic a group of 
people.  AHTJP worked closely with Kandal provincial police to 
secure the arrest through tracking the perpetrators and arresting 
them when they were attempting to depart Kandal province with the 
victims in a minivan.  The unknown informant had reportedly 
identified the two perpetrators as recruiters because the informant 
was skeptical of the perpetrators' attempts to persuade villagers to 
come to work in Thailand for high salaries.  Police reported that 
the perpetrators are now in pre-trial detention and that the victims 
returned to their families. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On February 26, Preah Sihanouk provincial police arrested 
64-year-old French national Jean Claude Fournier, male, for sexually 
abusing two underage male victims aged eight and 13 years.  Police 
reported that the perpetrator was charged by a Preah Sihanouk 
prosecutor with Article 43 "Indecent Acts Against a Minor Under 
Fifteen Years" and that the perpetrator is currently in pre-trial 
detention.  Police reported that the victims were sent to WHI for 
victim assistance. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On February 27, police from the AHTJP worked with Action 
Pour Les Enfants (APLE) to secure the arrest of 41-year-old American 
national Erik Peeters, male, for purchasing child prostitution. 
Police arrested the perpetrator in Siem Reap province and reported 
that the perpetrator was transferred to pre-trial detention in Phnom 
Penh because the case was under investigation by the national-level 
AHTJP based in Phnom Penh, and because the arrest warrant was issued 
by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.  The victims were three males 
aged between 11 and 14 years.  Police reported that the perpetrator 
was charged by a Phnom Penh Municipal Court prosecutor with Article 
34 "Purchase of Child Prostitution" and that the victims were 
returned to their families. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) On March 3, Preah Sihanouk provincial police arrested a 
46-year-old German national, Walter Novak, male, for sexually 
abusing two underage male victims aged 12 and 14 years.  Police 
reported that the perpetrator was charged by the Preah Sihanouk 
prosecutor with Article 43 "Indecent Acts against a Minor under 
Fifteen Years" and that the perpetrator is currently in pre-trial 
detention.  Police reported that the victims were sent to a 
provincial MOSAVY office for victim assistance. 
 
RODLEY