CAMBODIA TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ARRESTS FEBRUARY 21 TO

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 000206

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL KWMN KTIP SOCI CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ARRESTS FEBRUARY 21 TO
MARCH 9, 2009

Ref: PHNOM PENH 145

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED


1. (SBU) Summary: From February 21 to March 9, 2009, Cambodian
police reported that they arrested three individuals on human
trafficking charges. Police reported that three foreign pedophiles
were arrested and seven victims were rescued in connection with
pedophile cases. Police reported that the perpetrators are
currently in pre-trial detention. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court
reported what they believed to be a human trafficking case, but the
suit was actually a baby-selling incident, not trafficking. End
Summary.

Police Activity
--------------


2. (SBU) On February 22, police from the Anti-Human Trafficking and
Juvenile Protection (AHTJP) Department of the national police
arrested 25-year-old Ho Ngoy, male, for trafficking a nine-year-old
female victim to 49-year-old American national Ronald Boyasian at a
brothel in the Phnom Penh neighborhood of Svay Pak (Reftel). Ho
Ngoy had reportedly pimped underage victims at several brothels in
Svay Pak. While police reportedly only have sufficient evidence to
charge him with the one crime involving Ronald Boyasian and not any
of the alleged criminal activities involving other Svay Pak
brothels, the arrest of Ho Ngoy is considered a significant
anti-trafficking in persons arrest in the notorious Svay Pak
neighborhood. [Note: Ho Ngoy is a Cambodian returnee who formerly
lived in the U.S. The returnee committed a felony and served his
time in a U.S. prison before he was returned to Cambodia under a
March 2002 bilateral repatriation MOU. End Note.] Police reported
that the perpetrator is currently in pre-trial detention and the
victim was sent to World Hope International (WHI) for victim
assistance.


3. (SBU) On February 24, Kandal provincial police arrested
43-year-old Seng Chro, male, and 25-year-old Ky Chheng Rong, male,
for attempted trafficking of 19 male and female victims aged between
13 and 40 years from Kandal province to Thailand to work in a fish
canning factory. Among the 19 victims, there were five female
victims under age 17. Police reported that an unknown person tipped
off the police about a recruiter's intent to traffic a group of
people. AHTJP worked closely with Kandal provincial police to
secure the arrest through tracking the perpetrators and arresting
them when they were attempting to depart Kandal province with the
victims in a minivan. The unknown informant had reportedly
identified the two perpetrators as recruiters because the informant
was skeptical of the perpetrators' attempts to persuade villagers to
come to work in Thailand for high salaries. Police reported that
the perpetrators are now in pre-trial detention and that the victims
returned to their families.


4. (SBU) On February 26, Preah Sihanouk provincial police arrested
64-year-old French national Jean Claude Fournier, male, for sexually
abusing two underage male victims aged eight and 13 years. Police
reported that the perpetrator was charged by a Preah Sihanouk
prosecutor with Article 43 "Indecent Acts Against a Minor Under
Fifteen Years" and that the perpetrator is currently in pre-trial
detention. Police reported that the victims were sent to WHI for
victim assistance.


5. (SBU) On February 27, police from the AHTJP worked with Action
Pour Les Enfants (APLE) to secure the arrest of 41-year-old American
national Erik Peeters, male, for purchasing child prostitution.
Police arrested the perpetrator in Siem Reap province and reported
that the perpetrator was transferred to pre-trial detention in Phnom
Penh because the case was under investigation by the national-level
AHTJP based in Phnom Penh, and because the arrest warrant was issued
by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. The victims were three males
aged between 11 and 14 years. Police reported that the perpetrator
was charged by a Phnom Penh Municipal Court prosecutor with Article
34 "Purchase of Child Prostitution" and that the victims were
returned to their families.


6. (SBU) On March 3, Preah Sihanouk provincial police arrested a
46-year-old German national, Walter Novak, male, for sexually
abusing two underage male victims aged 12 and 14 years. Police
reported that the perpetrator was charged by the Preah Sihanouk
prosecutor with Article 43 "Indecent Acts against a Minor under
Fifteen Years" and that the perpetrator is currently in pre-trial
detention. Police reported that the victims were sent to a
provincial MOSAVY office for victim assistance.

RODLEY