SIENG Chanthy
Pseudonym: 2-TCCP-1015
Cases: Case 002/02
Category: Civil Party
Background and role
Sieng Chanthy testified as a Civil Party in Case 002/02 about the working conditions she endured, disappearances of her siblings and former Khmer Republic officials, the death and rape of Vietnamese, and her sister’s forced marriage. Relying on her testimony, among others, the Trial Chamber found disappearances of ranking Khmer Republic officials, executions of Vietnamese in Svay Reing, and forced marriage during the Democratic Kampuchea Regime (Regime).
Working conditions
During the Regime, Sieng Chanthy and her family resided in Ruessei Prey village, Svay Chrum district, Svay Rieng province.
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She was assigned to work in the kitchen
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and rice production.
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She was shunned by the other workers for fear of being associated with her as a mixed-blood.
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She was given a minimal amount of rice or porridge to eat, but the food ration was good when the harvest was good.
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Disappearance of her siblings and former Khmer Republic officials
Sieng Chanthy’s mother was pure Khmer and her father Vietnamese.
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She had eight brothers and sisters.
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When her brother Chanthan, a policeman in the Khmer Republic Regime, returned from Phnom Penh to Svay Rieng province, he was asked to attend a study session.
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She learned from villagers that
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he was killed along with three former soldiers of Khmer Republic regime in late 1977 at Tuol Sngnuon to the east of Chey pagoda, Svay Rieng,
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accused of being lazy and because of his former profession.
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Her other brother Chantha, a military trainer in the Khmer Republic Regime in Svay Rieng,
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was tied up and beaten in 1977 for destroying Angkar property, and later disappeared.
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The Trial Chamber cited her testimony that disappearances, arrests and/or executions of ranking Khmer Republic officials intensified in 1977.
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The death and rape of Vietnamese, including her father’s suicide
Sieng Chanthy knew that the Khmer men, Thon and Sa Onn, who had Vietnamese wives, were taken and killed the same day her brother Chanthan was taken.
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She learned from her father that two Vietnamese daughters of Thon were raped.
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She later heard that Thon’s Vietnamese wife along with her five children, and Sa Onn’s Vietnamese wife along with her daughter and son were killed at Toul Snguon, Svay Reing.
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Sieng Chanthy’s father committed suicide which she thinks was because of him being despised by the Khmer Rouge for being Vietnamese and to save his family.
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Forced marriage
In 1978, Sieng Chanthy’s sister Thida was forced to marry a man along with four other couples.
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The wedding was held in the cooperative unit of Ang Run, Svay Chrum distric, Svay Reing province.
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Chanthy and her mother were asked to join the wedding.
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The Supreme Court Chamber considered that Sieng Chanthy’s evidence was, among other witnesses and civil parties, “persuasive [] of the impact of the modalities by which marriages were arranged under the Regime, and of the marriages themselves.”
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Videos
| Date | Written record of proceedings | Transcript number |
|---|---|---|
| 29 February 2016 | E1/393 | E1/393.1 |
| 1 March 2016 | E1/394 | E1/394.1 |
| Document title Khmer | Document title English | Document title French | Document D number | Document E3 number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ពាក្យសុំតាំងខ្លួនជាដើមបណ្តឹងរដ្ឋ ប្បវេណីរបស់ សៀង ចាន់ថី | Civil Party Application of SIENG Chanthy | Constitution de partie civile de SIENG Chanty | D22/366 | E3/5076 |
| ពាក្យសុំតាំងខ្លួនជាដើមបណ្តឹងរដ្ឋ ប្បវេណី សៀង ចាន់ថី | Civil Party Application of SIENG Chanthy | Constitution de partie civile de SIENG Chanty | D22/366 | E3/9753 |
| ឯកសារភ្ជាប់៖សេចក្តីថ្លែងបន្ថែម របស់លោកស្រី សៀង ចាន់ថី D22/366 | Attachment: Supplementary Statement of SIENG Chanthy, D22/366 | Pièce jointe : Déclaration supplémentaire de SIENG Chanthy, D22/366 | D409/5/1.2.1 | E3/9754 |