PO Dina
Pseudonym: TCCP-117
Cases: Case 002/01
Category: Civil Party
Background and Role
Po Dina is a civil party who testified in Case 002/01 about her experience during the evacuation of Phnom Penh, the treatment of evacuees, the deaths of her family members, the regulation of marriage under the Khmer Rouge regime, and the treatment of officials and soldiers of the Khmer Republic.
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She and her husband worked at the Thai Embassy when the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh.
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Invasion of Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975
On 17 April 1975, Khmer Rouge soldiers entered Po Dina’s house asking if she and her husband were the owners.
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Her husband advised that they were not the owners of the house.
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However, the soldiers did not believe him and began breaking items and beating her husband while she begged them to stop.
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After some time, they released her husband and left the house.
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Khmer Rouge forces returned to her house at 8:00 p.m. that night and ordered them to leave immediately as they needed to reorganise the city.
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After begging the Khmer Rouge forces to let them leave the following morning, the soldiers warned them that if they failed to leave immediately, they would destroy everything and threatened their lives.
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The Trial Chamber referred to Po Dina’s testimony in finding that armed Khmer Rouge soldiers entered people’s homes and threatened to kill those who refused to follow their instructions to leave.
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It mentioned her testimony that Khmer Rouge soldiers had tied up and beat her husband when finding that evacuees were subjected to physical abuse.
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March out of Phnom Penh
Po Dina and her husband had no choice but to leave their home.
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They left on their motorbike to Monivong Bridge where they found numerous people marching out of the city.
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The roads were so busy that they could only move approximately five metres or so and became stuck with the people marching, not knowing where they were headed.
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During the march, Po Dina and her husband walked until they felt faint.
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They had no tools to assist with food preparation, saw dead bodies along the street, and generally felt that “life was miserable.”
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They walked until they reached Preaek Aeng Pagoda.
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When they arrived, they were asked to register members of their family and were categorised as the “17 April People” to distinguish themselves from the local population.
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They were told that they could not stay in Preaek Aeng Pagoda because they there was a shortage of food supply in the village.
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Po Dina begged those in charge of registration to allow her to stay in Preaek Aeng, but they refused.
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Po Dina and her husband eventually reached her hometown, Kaoh Dach village in the Mukh Kampoul District in Kandal Province.
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When they arrived, they were provided with four cans of rice but otherwise had no shelter or food for several days.
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After approximately one month, the 17 April People were forced to leave and 30-40 families were taken away on a boat and their belongings were confiscated.
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Throughout this process, children were separated from their families.
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Po Dina eventually arrived in Pursat Province, where her living conditions were terrible,
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before being evacuated to Svay Sa cooperative where “life was completely miserable […].”
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The Trial Chamber relied on Po Dina’s testimony in finding that the streets were so crowded during the evacuation that it was difficult to move and that the population used whatever means available to them to leave the city.
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It also relied on Po Dina’s testimony in finding that the conditions throughout the journey were miserable with most lacking basic cooking equipment and that many evacuees became weak or fell sick due to the conditions.
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Death of Family Members
While in Svay Sa, Po Dina’s husband disappeared one day while ploughing.
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She heard a rumour that he was taken for re-education because he was believed to have been a colonel of the previous regime.
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Her husband never returned.
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After this, Po Dina was accused of being the wife of a colonel from the previous regime, mistreated, and made to work extremely hard.
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Her son also became sick as a result of starvation and eventually died in front of her while begging her for food.
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Po Dina recalled that she also requested permission to visit her sick mother but was denied.
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Her mother eventually died and Po Dina was not allowed to go near her.
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Treatment of Officials and Soldiers of the Khmer Republic
During the march of the Phnom Penh, near the area of Boeung Snao, Po Dina witnessed soldiers from the Lon Nol administration being tied up and frog marched in line heading back to Phnom Penh.
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When she arrived in Pursat, Khmer Rouge forces researched her and her husband’s background because they suspected her husband of being a colonel of the previous regime.
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The Trial Chamber relied on Po Dina’s testimony in finding that several evacuees saw Khmer Republic soldiers walking single file and tied to each other in various ways.
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The Trial Chamber also relied on her testimony in finding that Khmer Rouge soldiers targeted officials of the Khmer Republic and that many Khmer Republic officials were either arrested and thereafter disappeared or were killed in the days following 17 April 1975.
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Statements of suffering
“I was in constant fear. I did not know what would happen to me and my family. And they confiscated our belongings, including our motorbike as well. They told us that we must not bring anything along with us. We only brought along the daily necessities. And at that time, I did not even bother to bring along with many belongings, because I, first of all, want to only save my life.”
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“I waited for my husband and I learned from others that once he was sent for re-education, that was destined for death. I fell sick, I fell sick and I was very weak. I got weaker and weaker because I had lost my loved family. I have lost my lovely - my beloved husband.”
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“After learning that my husband died, my son also fell sick. He was sick because of starvation. He did not have food to eat. He became very sick and I did not have any idea how to get medicines for my son. His limbs were swollen and we only had the rabbit dung pill to administer. He said he was very starving, he's starving, he begged me for food. He said that he was starving, he could not stand anymore and he died in front of me starving.”
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“The pain was unbearable upon seeing the death of my child.”
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“My life is like a woman in the Cambodian folk tale that I lost everyone; my husband, my mother and my son. I no longer had any hope with me. My life would become meaningless as all the valuables to my life - that is, my beloved ones, all left.”
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