Representatives of 10 government ministries discussed a draft for a new law that proposes to double the length of prison sentences for drug offenders Monday at the fourth meeting of the National Authority for Combating Drugs.
Currently, drug offenders receive an average sentence of one to five years in jail. Under the proposed law, offenders would get an average jail term of five to ten years behind bars.
Officials also discussed what to do with confiscated drugs and drug money.
During the meeting, National Authority for Combating Drugs Secretary-General Teng Savong argued that confiscated drug money and fines for drug offenses should be put into the coffers of the National Authority.
But Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng rejected this proposal. He said money should go to the National Bank of Cambodia, as stipulated in the previous law.
Teng Savong also suggested that some drugs classified as Amphetamine Type Stimulants be held by police—and not incinerated—in order to help train police dogs to recognize their scent.
“ATS is very difficult to import, so if we burn it and then buy it [for training purposes] it would be very contradictory,” Teng Savong said. He added that he did not want all the confiscated drugs, just the extraordinary varieties.
Co-Minister of Interior You Hockry was wary of such a program, however. He said that keeping the ATS with the National Authority is “risky,” because if corrupt officers have a vendetta against someone, they can easily plant the drugs and make a false arrest.
“These arrests can make society unjust,” he said.
Last year, Teng Savong said, police confiscated 75,576 amphetamine pills, but have already confiscated 87,120 pills in the first half of this year.
The influx of the pills, he said, comes mainly from Laos via Stung Treng, Kratie and Kompong Cham provinces and finally to Phnom Penh, from where it is distributed.
Students and sex workers make up the majority of drug abusers, Teng Savong said. “It is evident that law implementation and educational campaigns are not enough to reduce the cases of drug abuse,” he said, calling for more stringent sentencing.
The National Authority also announced that it will open a center to combat drug addiction in Preah Monivong Hospital. The center will provide advice and counseling to drug addicts.
Police also announced that, so far this year, they have destroyed eight hectares of marijuana fields along Cambodia’s borders and in its forests. That is compared to 11 hectares of destroyed fields in all of 2001.
