NONG Nim
Pseudonym: 2-TCW-1070
Cases: Case 002/02
Category: Witness
Background and role
Nong Nim was a member of East Zone Secretary Sao Phim’s defence unit from 1970 until the latter’s death in 1978.
1
He testified before the Case 002/02 Trial Chamber as a witness about visits to zones by the Democratic Kampuchea leadership, a meeting between the Vietnamese and Sao Phim before or during the war with the Vietnamese and the purges of East Zone cadres at “Brother Number One” Pol Pot’s order.
2
Visits by Democratic Kampuchea leadership
As a bodyguard and driver for Sao Phim, Nong Nim regularly took the East Zone secretary to meet with Pol Pot in Phnom Penh.
3
Nong Nim did not know what was discussed during the meetings because he did not attend Sao Phim’s meetings.
4
Nong Nim recalled Sao Phim’s visits to Northwest Zone Secretary Ruos Nhim in Battambang province.
5
During their meetings, Sao Phim jokingly called Ruos Nhim “A Siam or contemptible Thai”, and Ruos Nhim called Sao Phim “A Yuon or contemptible Vietnamese”.
6
Nong Nim did not know the reason behind the joke.
7
In turn, Ruos Nhim visited Sao Phim at the Samraong worksite in the East Zone.
8
Their visits occurred with similar frequency.
9
The Chamber accepted Nong Nim’s testimony about the meetings between Ruos Nhim and Sao Phim.
10
Ruos Nhim’s son, Cheal, was married to Sao Phim’s daughter who was named Si.
11
During his visits to Ruos Nhim, Sao Phim always swung by to visit his son-in-law who worked at Sector 5 Office.
12
The Trial Chamber accepted Nong Nim’s testimony about the family connection between Ruos Nhim and Sao Phim.
13
Khmer Rouge senior leaders including Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary visited the East Zone on several occasions, and they were all greeted by Sao Phim on their arrival.
14
During his visits, Nuon Chea sometimes met with Sao Phim alone.
15
Nong Nim did not recall the dates of the visits, nor did he know the purpose of them.
16
Meeting between the Vietnamese and Sao Phim
Nong Nim, who accompanied Sao Phim wherever he went, provided contradictory accounts about Sao Phim’s meeting with the Vietnamese, initially testifying that he never saw Sao Phim meet with the Vietnamese.
17
When confronted by the Defence for Nuon Chea with a prior statement he gave to the Documentation Center of Cambodia, Nong Nim recalled that Vietnamese guests came to Cambodia to meet Sao Phim, but he did not recall the date, saying only that it was before or during the war against Vietnam.
18
Due to Nong Nim’s uncertainty as to when this meeting occurred, and the unexplained contradictions in his testimony, the Trial Chamber did not consider that it showed collusion between Vietnam and Sao Phim against Pol Pot.
19
Purges of East Zone cadres accused of plotting to overthrow Pol Pot
People from different units were arrested in many places in the zone and loaded onto trucks heading westward.
20
All of the East Zone leadership disappeared.
21
Nong Nim believed that Pol Pot executed a coup d’état against the East Zone to depose Sao Phim whom he accused of being a traitor.
22
Sao Phim’s family members, including his wife Yeay Kirou, were also killed.
23
For this reason, Sao Phim travelled to Phnom Penh in 1978 with only his bodyguards to meet Pol Pot.
24
Sao Phim never arrived in Phnom Penh, reaching only Akreiy Kksatr in Sector 2 on the opposite side of the Mekong River from the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.
25
He twice sent messages to Pol Pol, asking that he be escorted into the city, but to no avail on each occasion.
26
Sao Phim and his entourage were later surrounded and fired upon by soldiers.
27
Sao Phim committed suicide in June 1978 to avoid being captured.
28
If Sao Phim had decided to flee, he could have, but he decided to communicate with Phnom Penh instead as he was loyal to Pol Pot.
29
After Sao Phim’s death, a force of 200-300 was created by his bodyguard unit leader, Cheng, to protect other East Zone people from being killed by Pol Pot.
30
Videos
| Date | Written record of proceedings | Transcript number |
|---|---|---|
| 12 December 2016 | E1/511 | E1/511.1 |
| Document title Khmer | Document title English | Document title French | Document D number | Document E3 number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [កែតម្រូវ២] បទសម្ភាសន៍ របស់មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលឯកសារ កម្ពុជាជាមួយ នង នីម | [Corrected 2] DC-Cam interview with Nong Nim | Audition DC-Cam de Nog Nim [Corrigée 2] | N/A | E3/10717 |