Teenager Accused of Damaging CPP Billboard

A 17-year-old Jarai teenager in Ratanakkiri province’s Bokeo district has been accused of damaging a CPP sign and is jailed in pretrial detention, police said.

Seav La was arrested July 2 in Soeung commune’s Klek village, provincial police chief Ray Rai said.

The suspect spent a night at the district police office, another night with the provincial police and was then charged at the provincial court July 4, at which time he was placed in pretrial detention, Ray Rai said.

“The suspect is in pretrial detention for a felony case of destroying private property,” he said. “He took out the billboard’s pole and tore [the sign].”

Prak Soeun, court clerk for Pros­ecutor May Sokhan, confirmed Tues­day that Seav La had been charged with intentional destruction of private property.

Ray Rai said the teenager was arrested following a complaint by CPP commune chief Ro Mamtang. Contacted on Tuesday, Ro Mam­tang denied that report.

“I did not file a complaint about this case,” Ro Mamtang said, add­ing that district level CPP officials must have filed the complaint be­cause the sign belonged to the district and not the commune. But CPP Bakeo district chief Khom Sakhan also denied filing a complaint.

“We transferred [the complaint] to the commune le­vel,” he said.

Pen Bonnar, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said Seav La was a minor being held un­lawfully because he was arrested without an official complaint being lodged with police.

He added that district police had forced 10 other individuals allegedly involved in the case to pay 150,000 riel each in order to have the same charge against them dropped.

“It is a serious violation. The po­lice used this case to extort money from poor villagers,” he said.

Seav Na, the older brother of Seav La, said his brother had not destroyed the sign, but rather had moved it out of his way because he had tripped over it on the way home from a drinks shop.

The sign had collapsed two days before, he added.

Seav Na said he had also paid 150,000 riel to district police so that they would drop charges against another one of his brothers in relation to this case.

Ray Rai denied that district police had extorted money from villagers, but commune chief Ro Mam­tang said he had received a call from district police to collect money from the alleged perpetrators.