VOEUN Vuthy
Pseudonym: 2-TCE-1062
Cases: Case 002/02
Category: Expert
Background and Role
Voeun Vuthy, an expert in osteology,
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testified in Case 002/02 on his study of the remains found in Choeung Ek and Kraing Ta Chan Security Centre regarding the total numbers, ages, genders, dates, and causes of death.
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The Trial Chamber relied on his testimony in finding that (i) a minimum of 7,708 detainees were executed at Choeung Ek;
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and (ii) a minimum of 3,158 detainees were executed at Kraing Ta Chan.
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Voeun Vuthy studied anthropology at the University of Fine Arts before continuing his education in Japan, Germany, and Italy.
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He also studied at the University of Hawaii specialising in human bones.
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He was involved in an archaeology research specialising in human bones in 1988, before participating in historical research on the pre-history of eastern Cambodia in 1990.
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From 2013 to 2015, he analysed victims’ bones found at Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre, and had since expanded his work Wat Prasat Vitei pagoda in Kampong Cham, Kouk Prech in Takeo province, and Krang Ta Chan Genocidal Crime Centre.
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Voeun Vuthy was working for the Ministry of Fine Arts as the Director of Archaeology and Prehistory for the Cambodian History when he testified.
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Choeung Ek
Voeun Vuthy evaluated the remains of 6,426 human crania at Choeung Ek and identified the gender, age, cause of death, and type of weapon used.
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He described the use of contextual factors to deduce windows of time within which the person died, including looking to both layers of soil and signs of trauma to infer that the remains came from victims of the Democratic Kampuchea era.
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When questioned on how the team knew that the bones at Choeung Ek were from victims of the Democratic Kampuchea era as opposed to bodies form the Chinese burial ground located at the same site, he stated that his team looked to traces of trauma, type of mud on the remains, and the circumstances surrounding the bones to determine this.
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He noted that unlike remains thought to be from the Democratic Kampuchea era, the Chinese bodies were buried in coffins.
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At Choeung Ek, he examined 63,112 bones.
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The methodology included a 12-step process of cleaning, photographing, and registering the bones.
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He drew conclusions about the types of weapons used on the victims based on traces found on the bones and interviews conducted both with those on-site who may have witnessed the killings or the corpses at some stage and those who worked there.
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He further described using microscopes to match particles from weapons used and concluded that a variety of weapons were used to kill the victims at Choeung Ek.
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He added that although his team could not find the actual tools used, they reproduced tools that matched the tracks and dents on the bones.
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In applying scientific, internationally standardised criteria to determine factors such as gender and age of the crania,
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Voeun Vuthy found bones from individuals ranging from three to 70 years old or more.
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He noted that, although there were 8,985 crania stored at the Choeung Ek wooden stupa in 1983 according to the Office of Propaganda and Culture of Phnom Penh, he only examined 6,426 crania while also finding 7,708 right humerus bones.
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Due to government restrictions and seasonal flooding, he investigated only 86 out of an estimated 129 pits at the site.
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The Trial Chamber relied on Voeun Vuthy’s testimony in finding that: (i) given that the exhumation process was not completed, some pits remain untouched, some bones may have disappeared since 1979, and further because of their deterioration for other reasons, the number of bones actually found and studied did not represent the totality of the victims executed at Choeung Ek;
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and (ii) the 7,708 right humerus bones were indicative of a minimum number of detainees executed at Choeung Ek.
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It also found that Voeun Vuthy’s testimony regarding weapons used, torture, and cause of death fell outside his expertise, thus it did not rely on it.
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Kraing Ta Chan Security Centre
Voeun Vuthy analysed 1,904 crania and 3,158 other bones stored at Kraing Ta Chan.
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He explained that his team found 11 mass grave pits,
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and noted that there were six remaining unexcavated grave pits.
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He described interviewing people who claimed to have been involved in the original exhumations at Krang Ta Chan and who relayed to him a figure of 10,042 crania exhumed in around 1980.
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He also asserted that more than 17,000 people were killed at Kraing Ta Chan.
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The Trial Chamber considered Voeun Vuthy’s testimony in finding that: (i) the figure of 1,904 crania and 3,158 other bones was the minimum figure for the number of human remains at Kraing Ta Chan;
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(ii) the excavated areas focused on the southern and eastern areas of Kraing Ta Chan;
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and (iii) the remains examined by Voeun Vuthy’s team were essentially of persons who were killed or died at Kraing Ta Chan post 17 April 1975.
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However, the Trial Chamber found that the number of people estimated to have been killed at Kraing Ta Chan appeared to have come from Sory Sen, to whom Voeun Vuthy spoke in the course of his work, thus it rejected Voeun Vuthy’s claims.
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