Case 002 Witnesses, experts and Civil Parties

Mr. Prum Sarat, 67, worked as a regiment and marine vessel commander during the Khmer Rouge regime. His testimony focused on the evidence concerning the chain of command, authority figures in his division, as well as the statements delivered by Pol Pot and Khieu Samphan. He mentioned that he used to work for Khieu Samphan back in 1991 as a member of his security force. Mr. Sarat testified that there was an order to kill all of the Vietnamese, including mothers and babies, during the DK regime because they were considered as hereditary enemies. He also confirmed hearing about the killing of the Lon Nol Soldiers sometime in 1975 or 1976 from some cadres.

This witness testified in a closed session so there is no publicly available information regarding his/her testimony.

This witness testified in a closed session so there is no publicly available information regarding his/her testimony.

Of Cham ethnicity, Ms. MATH Sor was born in approximately 1961 in Kampong Cham province. The testimony of Ms. Math offers personal insight into the treatment of the Cham people during Democratic Kampuchea. She describes being arrested and detained, and how she was able to avoid being selected for execution – surviving by lying about her ethnic origin. The witness also recounts visceral details of executions, including victims pleading with KR cadres not to be raped. Additional details surrounding the treatment of Cham people were revealed, including the forced eating of pork.

Mr. SAY Doeun, approximately 68 years old from Kampong Cham province is the next witness in January proceedings. The witness testified that he was a member of the Long Swords Group (LSG), tasked to ensure that workers in the rice fields did not steal any rice and to patrol surrounding villages. The LSG was also responsible for effecting arrests. In one instance he was ordered to arrest all Cham people indiscriminately. Following a brief tenure as a member of the LSG, the witness was then appointed village chief in a nearby village. The testimony of Mr. SÂY provides insight into the orders delivered by senior leaders in the Khmer Rouge in relation to the treatment of Cham people.

Mr. MUY Vanny, from Kampong Cham province, 49 years old at the time of his testimony, worked in a District Mobile Unit (DMU), stationed in Sdau commune for a period of just over two years. The DMU contained not only Khmer, but also 25-30 Cham people as estimated by the witness. Mr. Muy testified to witnessing his Cham colleagues being marched away as he returned to his DMU one evening. It was rumoured among the DMU that those who were led away were executed at Wat Autrakoun. Testimony revealed that these individuals were known to be Cham as they did not make an effort to conceal their identity early in the Khmer Rouge period. They also spoke Khmer with an accent and had ethnic names. For a period of approximately half a year, Mr. Muy described his role as that of a messenger for the Chief of Security at Wat Au Trakoun Security Centre, Hoeun. The testimony provided insight into the structure and operation of the DMU. The testimony also revealed conditions of those being held at Wat Autrakoun.

Mr. THANG Phal, of Prey Veaeng district, estimates he was 24 years old at the beginning of the Democratic Kampuchea regime. He came before the court to recall his subjugation to the Khmer Rouge – that he was labelled as the son of a capitalist and was forced into labor for the duration of the regime. Mr. Thang also elaborated a criterion that was used to determine the fate of children belonging to mixed ethnicity families. The children would be arrested and would disappear if the mother was Vietnamese, but if only the father was Vietnamese and the mother Khmer, the children would be spared. Mr. Thang did note, however, that none of his testimony can be substantiated from first-hand knowledge. Rather, this information was conveyed through anecdotes and rumors among his fellow villagers. Concluding his testimony, Mr. THANG Phal confirmed that he had heard of gunfire and artillery shelling as the Vietnamese army began to encroach upon Cambodian territory in 1979.

Witness 2-TCW-1000 was a former Khmer Rouge soldier. He received naval training before joining the Khmer rouge army. 2-TCW-1000 testified that Ta Meas Muth was the commander of his division (Division 164) and that his division had orders to arrest motorboats that were not part of the navy and report on the ethnicity of the occupants. 2-TCW-1000 remembers Vietnamese people getting arrested at sea, taken at the Ouchheuteal port  and being beaten afterwards even when they were unarmed.

Mr. IY Vuun, aged 79 years old worked in a rice field and lived about 300 meters from the Ksach pagoda. The temple had been removed and one of the monk residences was used to store rice. Mr. Vuun testified that executions took place in the pagoda including the execution. The people who were executed were told they were going to attend a study session. No one was allowed near the pagoda, it was forbidden and it was guarded. Mr. Vuun explains that he was able to get close to pagoda to see the pit of corpses as he was tendering cows in the area.

79 years old Ms. SIN Chhem was called to testify on the treatment of Vietname people in her commune during the Democratic Kampuchea regime. Ms. Chhem testified that the Vietnamese in her commune had Khmer husbands and wives. The Vietnamese spouses and the children of mixed marriages were taken away at night time to be killed. In total 4 families were taken away. Her husband was a commune chief. After her husband’s arrest, another person replaced him and the witness testified that that person had organized the arrests of the Vietnamese families in the commune. 

The witness, UNG Sam Ean, described in 1976, there was a cooperative, and the people ate communally and slept in their respective houses as usual. In 1977, the people had to dig a canal from the Romeas Haek river to the east section of the provincial town. Also during 1977, four to five mixed-race Vietnamese with Cambodian fathers and "Yuon" mothers, or some with Yuon fathers and Cambodian mothers were arrested and taken away. Those people had lived here at Kraham Ka Village for a long time. The witness didn't know about the Cham, because no Cham lived in this village, and she did not know about other villages. As for the monks, they were disrobed in 1975. Statues of Buddha were destroyed. 

Mr. Um Sounn was about 30 meters away from the killing site at Khsach Pagoda and was with friend Sean Sung - a previous witness in Case 002/02.  Witness remembers armed people accusing the victims as “Yuon” (Vietnamese) inside the library hall.

Witness then heard screams and crying while he saw the victims being killed one by one. Out of immense fear, he ran towards his house shaking and trembling. He returned to the killing site the next day and saw pits overflowing with corpses and gall bladders hanging on coconut trees.

Witness mentioned that babies and small children were held upside down and were smashed onto the coconut trees whereas older children were killed using bamboo clubs.

After serving in the former Lon Nol miliarty for over 3 years, including 1 year of study in Thailand, Mr. Prum Sarun testified on his experiences. The witness knew that all of the other former soldiers in his area were taken away and killed; however, the KR spared his life due his hard work. The witness was also present in a few meetings with the KR officials which detailed accused traiors within the commune who were then killed.

The witness also saw young cadres, as young as eight years old whose gun barrels touched the ground, arresting groups of people who were taken away and never returned.

Ms. Sak resides in Olong Treah Village, Prey Veng Province and works as a dry season rice farmer. Her mother was half Vietnamese, but none of her mother’s family members lived in their village. She recalls that anybody with Vietnamese origin was taken away to be killed, and that her mother met the same fate.

The Witness, who was a member of a mobile unit, describes a mass killing of 600-700 Vietnamese civilians at Wat Khsach (Chi Kreng District, SiemReapProvince) in 1978. He testifies that the victims were Vietnamese people from the surrounding villages who were locked in the pagoda before being marched out and executed. The Witness saw entire families of Vietnamese people being killed and dumped into a pit. He states that two families were let go on the grounds that they were Chinese rather than Vietnamese.   The Witness watched the killing for between one and three hours. He describes the disembowelment of a Vietnamese girl who had been a member of his mobile unit.

Witness Mr. Sien Sung witnessed how a girl named Chantha was allegedly attacked when her gall bladder was removed from her body during a purge at Wat Khsach pagoda in Chi Kreng district in 1978. He also testified that he watched 60 to 80 people being killed by the Khmer Rouge, amongst them children. The soldiers who killed the victims were, according to this testimony, between 14 and 16 years old with one adult leading the group (source).

Testimony of the witness was in closed session. 

Mr. SOS Rumly, of Kampong Cham province, approximately 60 years old at the time of his testimony, is the second witness to be heard before the Trial Chamber in January. As the clerk to the Trea commune chief during the Democratic Kampuchea, Mr. SOS Rumly conveyed testimony concerning the treatment of Chams. A Cham himself, he described his own experiences prior to 1975 and how things changed after. The general theme of his testimony was the restriction of religious and cultural freedoms, leading to the arrests of various Cham leaders throughout his village.

Mr. BAN Seak, aged 61, testified how he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Public Works after the purges of the North Zone cadres occurred. During his time as Deputy Secretary, So Soeun, wife of Ke Pauk, was appointed District Chief of the Chamkar Leu District. Being tasked with supervising the Lvea and Chamkar Andong villages, he was unaware of any Cham people living within the areas because they were forbidden to practice their religion. The witness was not aware about the fate of approximately 1,000 Cham families reported missing from the Chamkar Leu district. Mr. Ban, who lost two of his siblings during this time,  reaffirmed that people were killed regardless of their race or religion. He was told by the district committee members that Nuon Chea acted as one of the key advisors on certain “policies”. Mr. Ban said he had no authority to decide who would be executed; the orders came from the upper levels, and stated that no one was spared from the purges. If you opposed the regime, you were the enemy. He recalled seeing corpses, some in unknown military uniforms, floating down the Mekong near Trea Villiage. Some did not have heads.

The Witness was Deputy chief of the Sector5 mobile brigade under Haun alias Ta Val since January 1976; he was assigned to the Trapeang Thma Dam Worksite after building the Kambao-Sreh Dam and Kok Rumchek Dam. He mentions the visits of KHIEU Samphan alias Haem at the Kok Romchek worksite and the fact that he saw the real work conditions and laborers, including "skinny" people. He describes the authority structure at the Trapeang Thma dam construction site, the administrative structure at the Northwest Zone, Sector 5 and Preah Net Preah District and the organization of sector mobile brigades.

The Witness was Deputy chief of the Sector5 mobile brigade under Haun alias Ta Val since January 1976; he was assigned to the Trapeang Thma Dam Worksite after building the Kambao-Sreh Dam and Kok Rumchek Dam. He mentions the visits of KHIEU Samphan alias Haem at the Kok Romchek worksite and the fact that he saw the real work conditions and laborers, including "skinny" people. He describes the authority structure at the Trapeang Thma dam construction site, the administrative structure at the Northwest Zone, Sector 5 and Preah Net Preah District and the organization of sector mobile brigades.

Rice farmer Mr. SOT Sophal, aged 51 at the time of the trial, recalled his experience working at the Trapeang Thma Dam (TTD) worksite. He was transferred to the TTD worksite after being one of 2,000-3,000 children working at a Kampok Plantation. At the TTD site, he was part of the Special Children’s Unit assigned to dig and carry dirt, enough to meet the ever increasing daily quota. Working from 3am until 11am, then 2pm until 11pm, Mr. Sot states that if you didn’t meet the daily quota your food rations were significantly reduced. He saw workers fainting and dying because of too much work.

Mr. TAY Koemhun testified that his house was 50 metres away from the Wat Au Trakuon pagoda, where he saw multiple people being directed four or five times per day. Men, women and children were led to the pagoda which played loud music; the older ones were tied up with rope as the younger children followed behind. The witness was not aware of the reason why people were being taken to the pagoda, but other villagers told him that they were being killed inside while the loud music was being played. The witness was tasked to harvest rice and had his life threatened twice by cadres. After the regime was over, Mr. Tay confirmed that Chams were no longer in his village.

Mr. Samrit Muy, 68, was born in Kang Meas District in Kampong Cham province. He testified about the arrest of many Cham people in the Sach Sou village and their subsequent disappearance in the Au Trakuon pagoda. The witness was a worker at a rubber plantation in Peam Chi Kang until the B-52 bombings, and was later appointed to ‘Commune Militiaman’ in Sach Sou village, adjacent to Sambuor Meas village. The witness told the Trial Chamber about one large arrest where all the Cham people living in Sach Sou village, except for
one family (that is a husband and a wife) that was arrested. This took place after the establishment of the so-called Long Sword Group by the Southwest group, as recalled by the witness. From a distance, the witness said he saw how the Cham people were taken to the Au Trakuon pagoda ‘to be killed’. Despite never having seen any killing, the witnessed assured the court that ‘those who were brought into that pagoda would never return’.