KONG Uth
Pseudonym: 2-TCW-855
Cases: Case 002/02
Category: Witness
Background
Kong Uth (Kang Ut) worked in a mobile unit at the 1st January Dam site from 1975-1977.
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She testified as a witness in the Case 002/02 trial on the working conditions at the dam site, the treatment of the Cham, and her forced marriage.
Working conditions and deaths at 1st January Dam
The Dam was known as a “hot battlefield”
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due to the strict deadlines workers had to meet to complete its construction on time.
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Tens of thousands of workers were assigned to work there; most of whom were aged 20-25, single women and New People.
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Uth was responsible for carrying earth,
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and began work at 4 a.m.
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until 5pm,
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then restarted again at 7pm.
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She had a day off and a dessert every ten days.
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She heard that a worker assigned to break rocks had died when a rock fell on top of him from the bridge,
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as well as the arrest and execution of a young man named Try, who was aged 14 or 15.
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Food at the dam site was insufficient,
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so workers were malnourished and emaciated; a fact accepted by the Trial Chamber.
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There were no mosquito nets
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or toilets.
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The Trial Chamber accepted Uth’s testimony to find that “when workers were too sick to continue, there were efforts to treat them in the sleeping quarters, at local clinics or at hospitals”.
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On appeal the Supreme Court Chamber referred to Uth’s written record of interview describing the treatment of exhausted and sick workers at the dam site:
“[a] number of people got sick because they overworked and became so exhausted. Some of the diseases include fever and stomach pain. There was no hospital. But there were mobile medics. There were medicines known as rabbit droppings medicine. When someone was seriously ill they would be sent to the far away hospital. No one wanted to be left dead at the site.”
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The Trial Chamber recalled Uth’s testimony that “one person was crushed by a rock that fell off a bridge that was under construction”.
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Relying in part on Uth’s written and oral testimony, the Chamber found that
“[t]he available evidence before the Chamber shows that few people died of illness or injury at the 1st January Dam, but usually individuals who were seriously sick were sent back to their villages or to local clinics where they died when treatments failed. The Chamber therefore finds that it was proved that workers died due to work-related accidents or due to conditions imposed at the 1st January Dam”.
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Forced marriages
Uth was arranged to marry in Doung village
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with 25 other couples.
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No militiamen watched over them during their first night as a married couple.
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It was the chief who chose the couples to be married and that parents were subsequently informed of the marriage.
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The Trial Chamber refered to Uth’s testimony in finding that weddings ranged from one to 70-80 couples,
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there was no parental involvement in the marriages,
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and that couples accepted the marriage out of fear of opposing Angkar.
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The Security Centre at Baray Choan Dek Pagoda
This security centre was located in Uth’s hometown, not far from the Dam.
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She saw people being taken there at night and after their arrival it was silent.
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Most of those people were New People from other parts of the country.
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After the regime fell, she saw four or five large pits containing skeletons and skulls that were exhumed at Baray Choan Dek Pagoda.
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