SUN Vuth
Pseudonym: 2-TCCP-1016
Cases: Case 002/02
Category: Civil Party
Background and role
Sun Vuth joined the Khmer Rouge army in 1974 in Puok District, Siem Reap Province.
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Before the liberation of Phnom Penh in April 1975, he was dispatched to Phnom Penh and participated in the battlefields near Basedth Mountain and Kob Srov.
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After 1975, he became a company chief in Division 920 and was sent to at Kaok Nheaek district, Mondolkiri sector or Sector 105, to protect the border with Vietnam.
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Following the Division 920 commander’s arrest in 1977, Sun Vuth was arrested and detained in a prison at Ou Chhbar for about six months until he could flee.
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Sun Vuth testified as a Civil Party before the Case 002/02 Trial Chamber on the internal purges in Division 920, armed conflict, and forced marriage under the Democratic Kampuchea (DK) regime.
Internal purges in Division 920
Division 920 maintained a presence in Sector 105 from 1975, and was initially under the command of Chhin, the commander-in-chief, and Soy, his deputy.
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Division 920 had three regiments including Regiment 91 and Regiment 92, headed by Soeun.
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They were dispatched in Mondolkiri in order to patrol and defend the border with Vietnam.
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The Division 920 office was located in Kaoh Nheaek about 500 metres away from Ou Chbar.
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Sun Vuth was initially a messenger for Chhin for two months before being nominated as a company chief of soldiers in Division 920.
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Sun Vuth was under the division authority and was not part of any regiment; therefore, “[he] could be mobile within the three regiments.”
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In 1977, Division 920 commanders – including Chhin, Soy, Kol, Non, and Yen – were called to study and taken to be killed in Phnom Penh under the accusation of betraying Angkar and collaborating with Vietnam.
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All soldiers were told to be cautious as they may have been linked to their commander’s network.
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Around November or December 1977, Sun Vuth was arrested and interrogated under torture in a prison in Ou Chbar located to the south of the Division 920 office, about a half-kilometre away.
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He never thought of betraying Angkar or heard his commanders talk about any revolt or rebellion against Angkar.
Division 801, commanded by Saroeun or Ta 05, came to arrest people in Division 920 and then took control of the division.
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Ta San or Brother 06, originally from Kratie, and Ta Leu, an ethnic minority, came from the Division 801 to replace Chhin and Soy in Division 920.
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Citing Sun Vuth’s testimony in addition to other evidence, the Trial Chamber found that: (i) Sun Vuth was not detained at Phnom Kraol prison;
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and (ii) members of Division 920 were purged as a result of their perceived enemy status.
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Armed conflict with Vietnam
In Division 920, Sun Vuth’s main tasks were to patrol along the border, make spikes, dig trenches to put the mines, and to ensure that the Vietnamese troops could not enter the territory.
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These tasks were meant to comply with the plans to protect the territorial integrity of the country.
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The Cambodian side did not agree with the Vietnamese, who claimed that Ou Dak Dam was not the borderline, and their land reached to Mereuch or Kaoh Nheaek.
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The report was sent to the upper echelon who in turn instructed him to fighting in order to defend the real borderline.
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Forced marriage
Sun Vuth was arranged to marry a female combatant in Kaoh Nheaek district.
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However, the marriage did not take place after he refused “maybe” because he was “rather young” at that time.
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Marriages were usually arranged for male combatants who were 30 years old and above, and for female combatants who were 29 or 30 years old.
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Combatants were matched to get married without knowing each other beforehand.
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The couples had to make a commitment that they had to be honest and faithful to one another.
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After the marriage, the newlyweds were arranged to live in a row of small huts, and were monitored by a team of two soldiers – who were close to their commanders – to see whether they consummated the marriage.
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Reports were then made to the upper echelon.
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Those who refused to the consummation of the marriage were taken for re-education.
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Any woman who did not love her husband was to be re-educated to love him in accordance with Angkar’s instructions.
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The Trial Chamber relied on this evidence in finding that: (i) women were generally in their twenties and men were generally 25 or older when they married;
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(ii) after wedding ceremonies, couples were commonly monitored to ensure that they had consummated their marriages;
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and (iii) in general, when the authorities discovered that couples had not consummated their marriages, there was a follow-up process in which the authorities called in the individuals and talked to them.
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However, the Trial Chamber found that Sun Vuth’s case was exceptional, and that the overwhelming majority of the evidence showed that people had no choice other than to obey and marry in accordance with a coercive practice stemming from the Communist Party of Kampuchea’s directives on marriage.
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On appeal, Khieu Samphan argued that the Trial Chamber erred in relying on Sun Vuth’s testimony because he did not testify that the senior officials at the upper echelons were made aware of the practice of the monitoring on the consummation of the marriage,
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and did not mention any measures taken against newlyweds who had not consummated their marriage.
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The Supreme Court Chamber held that the Trial Chamber did not err in its findings, considering that Sun Vuth’s testimony pointed out that the upper echelon designed a policy regarding the consummation of marriage,
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and found that other evidence pointed to a policy of “re-education” as opposed to counseling.
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Statement of suffering
“I was instructed to be a soldier to serve the nation and later on I was arrested and I felt so hurt for that and I have resented that. I served the nation for years and why was -- why I was arrested and accused of betraying Angkar? I sacrificed my life for the motherland and for the Party. And I would like the Accused to give me explanation. Why did that happen? And also, my parents were killed along with some of my siblings and relatives. My father did not do anything wrong although he was a deputy -- a first deputy commune chief during the previous regime. And in 1975 while I was in Mondolkiri to serve in the army, I was not with my parents. And I -- at that early stage, I did not know about the fate of my parents since I focused myself on serving the nation and the Party. And later on I learned of their fate that they had been killed. And that was painful to learn. And I would like to have explanations from the Accused on the reasons for their deaths. I don't want to accuse them but I want to know the real truth. Why innocent people, like my parents who did nothing wrong, were killed? And I want responses from the Accused, of course through you, Mr. President, so that I may feel relief.”
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