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