Cambodia Cracks Down on Offenders
May 12, 2011 ·
On November 22 2000, Jon Keeler was sentenced to three years imprisonment in a Cambodian prison. British born Keeler, a Director of a Phnom Penh English school, had been caught taken pornographic films of young girls in a public park. On sentencing, Keeler shouted abuse, saying he had paid the judge and prosecutor for his freedom, and refused to be sent to prison.
Although this case is a breakthrough, as it shows that Cambodia is willing to charge foreigners, the usual sentence is 10 to 20 years. Child Rights activists in the region are shocked by the sentence. Yim Po, (Cambodian Committee for Protection of Children) said “If we don’t give stronger sentences, how will we ever stop them? Currently, Cambodia is running training programmes for police and prosecutors on the issue, which may mean that sentences will be harsher in the future.
