In the first step toward possibly placing charges against a local newspaper, Phnom Penh Municipal Court officials on Tuesday privately questioned Kampuchea Bulletin editor-in-chief Khieu Phirum about a story in his publication that allegedly hurt the reputation of King Norodom Sihanouk.
Court prosecutor Yet Chakriya said Tuesday he asked Khieu Phirum where he got the story and who was responsible for running it.
Yet Chakriya said he will not decide what, if any, charges to lay against the paper until he has questioned its editor and publisher, Ouk Kim Seng, The move was prompted by a complaint against the Bulletin brought by government lawyer Kao Bun Hong, acting on instructions from the Ministry of Information, Yet Chakriya said.
It follows a 30-day suspension of the paper for a July 11 story alleging that Paris-based Prince Norodom Sihamoni is not the King’s son.
Minister of Information Lu Laysreng described the case as the “hot point for the ministry right now,” adding that defaming the King is one of the gravest crimes a newspaper can commit.
“This one is a very big mistake. I don’t think it can be forgiven,” Lu Laysreng said Tuesday, but added that he doesn’t have the authority to shut the paper down for good.
“I can only suspend a Cambodian newspaper for one month,” he said. “If the court decides he has committed a crime, then the newspaper will be suspended forever.”
The story, titled “Search for One Who Would Be King,” was a Khmer translation of a feature on the succession that first appeared on the Web site of the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
The King hotly denied the allegations and last week filed suit against the paper in a Hong Kong court.
Ouk Kim Seng stood by the story, saying it addressed important issues.
“[I decided to run it] because that is the news…talking about a successor,” he said Monday.
(Additional reporting by Saing Soenthrith)
