JUSTICE MINISTER COMMENTS ON LY VOUCH LENG'S NEW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000131

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, G/TIP, AND DRL
USAID FOR ASIA BUREAU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF KTIP KWMN CB
SUBJECT: JUSTICE MINISTER COMMENTS ON LY VOUCH LENG'S NEW
POSITION DO NOT INSPIRE CONFIDENCE

REF: A. PHNOM PENH 114

B. 07 PHNOM PENH 1059

PHNOM PENH 00000131 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) Summary: During a courtesy call with Minister of
Justice Ang Vong Vathana on February 25, the Ambassador
expressed concern over the recent news that former Appeals
Court President and member of the Supreme Council of the
Magistracy Ly Vouch Leng was recently appointed as a legal
counsel to the Council of Ministers. Ly Vouch Leng was
removed from her former positions by an August 2007 royal
decree over serious allegations of corruption related to the
Chhay Hour II brothel TIP case -- she allegedly accepted USD
30,000 for the release of the two convicted brothel owners.
The Minister responded to the Ambassador's inquiry regarding
the status of an ongoing investigation into the corruption
allegation by stating that the Ministry of Justice is
"waiting for a court judgment" and that the order issuing Ly
Vouch Leng's removal does not prohibit her from continuing to
work in the government. Regarding TIP arrests being lower
during the April to December 2008 reporting period compared
to the same period in 2007, the Ambassador communicated our
understanding that the February 2008 enactment of the Law on
the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation
without prior training on the law had negatively impacted
courts' abilities to successfully prosecute TIP cases. She
nonetheless strongly encouraged the Ministry of Justice to
work with the courts to increase prosecution efforts as a
signal of continued commitment to combat TIP. End Summary.

Ly Vouch Leng Appointed as Council of Ministers Staff
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2. (SBU) Post has confirmed that the former Cambodia Appeals
Court President and member of the Supreme Council of the
Magistracy Ly Vouch Leng has been appointed as a legal
counselor to the Council of Ministers. The Ministry of
Interior (MOI) reported in August 2007 that an MOI
investigation committee found evidence that Ly Vouch Leng
accepted more than USD 30,000 in bribes in exchange for the
release of two TIP perpetrators arrested in connection with
the high-profile Chhay Hour II brothel case (Ref B). As a
result of the MOI findings, the King issued a royal decree
removing Ly Vouch Leng from her positions, and in both public
and private statements, Prime Minister Hun Sen and other RGC
officials stated that the Chhay Hour II investigation was
"not finished." Despite our numerous inquiries to the MOI
and Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for information regarding the
investigation, including an April 2008 request letter from
the Ambassador to the Justice Minister, the RGC has not
produced any information regarding the status of the
investigation. In addition to raising our concerns during
her February 25 meeting with Minister of Justice Ang Vong
Vathana, the Ambassador sent a letter to Deputy Prime
Minister Sar Kheng expressing dismay over the news of Ly
Vouch Leng's new government position, and again requesting
information on the status of the investigation.

Justice Minister "No Friend of Ly Vouch Leng"
--------------


3. (SBU) The Ambassador's expression of concern over Ly
Vouch Leng's recent appointment was met with the Minister's
circumlocutions that Ly Vouch Leng's new position is not a
promotion; the MOJ itself is reserving judgment on the former
court president until the investigating court has made a
final decision in her case; and, the decree removing her from
her former positions did not stipulate that she could no
longer work in the government. After his defense of Ly Vouch
Leng's assuming a new government position, Ang Vong Vathana
asserted that he does not wish to be associated with Ly Vouch
Leng and implied that the feeling is mutual when he stated
that the former judge did not show up to work when she was
transferred to the MOJ after her Appeals Court removal. He
stated that the court case regarding the allegations is still
proceeding, and if there is a finding of corruption, that Ly
Vouch Leng will be punished. However, he did not offer to
follow up on the Ambassador's request for information.

Minister Blames Lower TIP Convictions on Police
-------------- --


4. (SBU) As reported in post's 2009 Cambodia TIP report
(Ref A),Cambodian courts convicted no fewer than 14 TIP
perpetrators in the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, and seven in
provincial courts from April to December 2008. In addition,
Cambodian courts convicted four foreign pedophiles during the
same period. In order to match the more than 50 TIP and
pedophile convictions reported for the entire 2008 TIP

PHNOM PENH 00000131 002.2 OF 002


reporting period (April 2007 to March 2008),courts would
have to prosecute approximately 25 related cases from January
to March 2009. Based on preliminary information from the
MOJ, we believe there may have been no TIP convictions in
January 2009. The Ambassador urged Minister Ang Vong Vathana
to emphasize the need for continued high levels of TIP
prosecutions in the courts as a sign of the RGC's sustained
commitment to eliminate TIP in Cambodia. The Minister
averred that the problem actually lies with the police -- if
the police are not enforcing the law by arresting
perpetrators, then the courts have no one to prosecute.
(Comment: Post believes that slow or ineffectual
investigations by the civil-law courts are a major problem,
also. End comment.)

Comment
--------------


5. (SBU) We are confounded by the appointment of Ly Vouch
Leng as a legal counsel to the Council of Ministers. We
believe it is likely that a high-level CPP member made the
decision to appoint Ly Vouch Leng to her new staff position,
possibly believing that there had been sufficient a "cooling
off" period on the part of TIP observers and that there would
be indifference to her working at a low level within the
government. Ly Vouch Leng is known for being well-connected
within the government, and she would have had access to the
highest levels to solicit for a new position. However, the
relevance of a royal decree that is handed down by the
Supreme Council of the Magistracy in order to remove someone
based on criminal corruption allegations is lost when the RGC
argues that it now must rely on a lower court to validate the
findings of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy to truly
remove the corrupt official from government work.
RODLEY