NETH Phally
Pseudonym: E2/50
Cases: Case 001
Category: Civil Party
Background
Neth Phally testified as a Civil Party before the Case 001 Trial Chamber, seeking reparations for the death of his older brother who was detained and killed at S-21 Security Centre.
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He was born in Tuol Trach and has two siblings.
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In 1974, he was a soldier in Sector 22 in Ngor 124 in the East Zone.
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Neth Bunthy, his older brother, served as a soldier in the same zone.
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Neth Bunthy’s Disappearance
In 1975, Neth Phally went to work in Phnom Penh without his brother, Neth Bunthy.
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In 1978, Neth Phally received a letter from his brother explaining that he was wounded on the battlefield.
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He gained permission from the chief of his unit to visit his brother in the 17 April Hospital (now called the Russian Hospital) in Phnom Penh.
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However, he could only visit his brother for an hour because he had severe wounds, including a broken jaw which rendered him unable to speak.
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Neth Phally lied to his unit to visit his brother a second time.
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During this visit, Neth Bunthy expressed his misery and suffering, and Neth Phally suggested his brother should seek permission to join the handicap unit.
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Neth Bunthy also voiced his longing for Seang Lorn, a woman who lived in the neighbouring village, and believed that Angkar would allow them to marry after reading his biography.
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Ten days later, Neth Phally lied again to visit his brother in hospital.
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However when he arrived, the medics told him that his brother had been relocated to an unknown location.
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At this time, Neth Phally held his suspicions about his brother’s whereabouts.
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Despite searching, he did not see Neth Bunthy again.
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Active Search for Neth Bunthy
After the Liberation Day of 7 January 1979, Neth Phally moved to and searched in various districts to locate his brother.
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He remained hopeful that Neth Bunthy may have joined a military unit or political faction, or was concealing himself.
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However, his efforts were unsuccessful.
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In June 2004, the Documentation Centre of Cambodia showed Neth Phally a copy of Neth Bunthy’s S-21 prisoner biography.
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After 25 years of searching and believing that Neth Bunthy could still be alive, Neth Phally finally had confirmation that his brother had been detained, tortured, and killed at S-21.
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During his testimony, Neth Phally questioned the Accused, Kaing Guek Eav (alias ‘Duch’), with Duch suggesting that Neth Bunthy was likely executed as a result of east soldier “purges.”
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Duch explained that the Democratic Kampuchea regime did not trust soldiers from the east.
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He claimed that after a grenade was thrown at the royal palace until the arrest of Chann Chakkrei, soldiers were arrested from the east and killed at S-21:
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“[t]hey were sent en masse and executed en masse.” After reviewing the card produced at S-21 in relation to Neth Bunthy, who entered the Security Centre on 24 December 1978, Duch confirmed that this was the final phase in which the Democratic Kampuchea regime conducted purges of east soldiers.
Suffering Endured at S-21
Neth Phally heard that detainees endured brutality, suffering, and torture before being killed at S-21, including fingernail extractions, drownings, the use of plastic bags to suffocate detainees, electrocution, and immolation.
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Knowing this, Neth Phally and his family were deeply moved and fell into a great depression knowing that Neth Bunthy would have met the same fate.
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Neth Phally’s parents were “broken” after receiving Neth Bunthy’s biography.
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They missed their son and constantly expressed their sorrow, sadness, and sympathy towards him and the circumstances that led to his death.
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As a result, they fell seriously ill.
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Similarly, when Neth Bunthy’s fiancé heard of his death, she was heartbroken.
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She isolated herself and fell into a state of deep sorrow and depression.
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Since learning of his brother’s death, Neth Phally visited Tuol Sleng (formerly known as S-21) and witnessed the instruments used and scenes in which detainees would have been tortured.
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He visited room 33 where Neth Bunthy was detained, which he described as a “crematorium” and a “pigpen, a place where animals could have been kept.”
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As a result of the emotional distress and suffering caused by the loss of his brother, Neth Phally endured a severe work injury which caused his arm to be amputated.
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The Trial Chamber found that Neth Phally proved his brother’s existence and either his close kinship or particular bonds of affection or dependency in relation to his brother.
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It also found that the death of Neth Bunthy caused demonstrable injury and that Neth Phally’s harm was a direct consequence of the crimes for which Duch was convicted.
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Statement of Suffering
My brother talked to me about the woman he had been in love with. The woman had to wait for him for one month - for one year hoping to be able to get married with my brother and her hope was not realized.
The woman was heartbroken. She had to remove herself from social interactions because she had to isolate herself for this kind of effect and that she remained inside the home being very quiet because she expected that she would be able to get married with the person whom she loved. But after all she could never ever see him. And her hope was fractured. And she has been in deep sorrow and depressed ever –
For me, I personally have been affected by this regime. One day, I went to work at the rubber plantation to chop down the rubber trees. At about 9 a.m. we took a break. During the break, the workers exchanged conversation and they told us that people would have been executed en masse at that location, and I was moved to hear that because if it was the place where people would have been smashed, it would be the same as the place where my brother was killed. After a few minutes then we could resume our work as usual. Then we started to chop down the rubber trees and I could not hold back the memory of my brother who was killed at the S-21, and when the rubber tree was falling then because of -- I was thinking too much of my brother. I could not really run away from the falling tree and it severed my left arm, so I am now forever handicapped.
In my whole life I never forget the moment. I have been living with great suffering. My father died, my brother perished and I am becoming an amputee and very helpless. So I have been living with this great suffering and with the hopelessness.
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