OUM Suphany (OM Suphany)
Pseudonym: 2-TCCP-296
Cases: Case 002/02
Category: Civil Party
Background and Role
Oum Suphany, who was identified as part of the New People, testified as a civil party in Case 002/02 on her experiences living and getting married in Tram Kak district.
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The Trial Chamber relied on her testimony in finding that (i) there was a categorisation of persons in Tram Kak district;
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and (ii) weddings were not conducted in accordance with Cambodian tradition during the Democratic Kampuchea period.
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Oum Suphany was evacuated from Phnom Penh to Trapeang Thum South commune in Tram Kak district, where she stayed from 17 April 1975 until 6 January 1979.
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She is the author of two books about her experiences living under the Khmer Rouge regime written based on a secret diary she kept during the Khmer Rouge period.
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Party Policies in Tram Kak District
In 1976, Angkar had a “new plan” to mix New People and Base People together so that it would be easier to control the New People.
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She recalled that collective eating of both Base and New People began from 9 February 1976 at the latest.
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The Trial Chamber relied on Oum Suphany’s testimony in finding that the Communist Party of Kampuchea’s categorisation of persons living in cooperatives applied to Tram Kak district, though there were some instances where Base People mixed with New People.
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Forced Marriage
Oum Suphany married her fiancé whom she loved in 1975.
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However, both she and her fiancé were ill at the time.
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Her wedding was a small ceremony held in the presence of a monk and the unit chief.
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No family member or relative was involved in the run-up to the wedding,
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nor present at her wedding ceremony, which in her opinion rendered the ceremony meaningless.
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Although the rules concerning marriage were not so strict at the beginning of the Democratic Kampuchea period,
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her mother-in-law forced her to get married or be separated by Angkar due to the fact that she was a resident in Phnom Penh while her fiancé was from a family of Base People from outside Phnom Penh.
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The Trial Chamber referred to Oum Suphany’s testimony in finding that, although there was evidence of Buddhist blessings at wedding ceremonies, the evidence was limited and did not have an impact on the consistent practice that weddings were not conducted in accordance with Cambodian tradition.
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The Supreme Court Chamber dismissed Khieu Samphan’s reliance on Oum Suphany’s testimony in arguing that consensual types of marriage arrangement existed in the Democratic Kampuchea regime,
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when finding that Oum Suphany’s evidence explicitly referred to the climate of force and coercion in her marriage.
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It also dismissed Khieu Samphan’s reliance on Oum Suphany’s testimony in submitting that there were situations of arranged marriage and similar social pressure before the Democratic Kampuchea period,
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when finding that even though parents were involved in traditional practices of marriage before 1975, Oum Suphany’s evidence showed that they were forcibly supplanted by the Democratic Kampuchea regime.
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Killing of Intellectuals
When Oum Suphany arrived at Trapeang Thum South commune on 17 April 1975, four to five women she knew, whose husbands were teachers and military officials, were put into a group referred to as the “Widow Unit” and sent away for “study sessions”.
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She claimed that this “shows that Angkar had already executed their husbands”.
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Her brother-in-law, Sou Nam (alias Sou Saut, alias Sou Nem), who was a doctor from Battambang, was later sent to S-21 and killed.
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The Trial Chamber relied on oum Suphany’s testimony in finding that: (i) intellectuals were among those first arrested and sent to S-21;
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and (ii) Sou Nam was one of the medical staff who were executed at S-21.
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