Report of CGP (Cambodian Genocide Program) Mapping team visits to Kandal Provincial Sites.

D119646

Report of CGP (Cambodian Genocide Program) Mapping team visits to Kandal Provincial Sites.

English​

Cambodia​

1 March 1996

DC-Cam D119646 4/3/2025

Kandal Province

DC-Cam/ Documentation​

Cambodia

Computer-Typing (Tx) 8 pages

13-November 1995
+ Sala Trapeang Sva (Kandal Stoeung)
This is the site of the former National Education Center of Bati, a Teachers College built in 1965, which was used as a prison and burial site by the KR from 1975-1979. Part of the former college, probably the assembly hall, has been converted into a memorial, where thousands of Skulls, stacked about two meters high, have been placed on a raised stage (approx. 4m * 7m) at the end of the hall. the skulls were taken from the mass graves nearby after they were excavated in 1979.
+ Por Tonle (Koh Thom)
This memorial was built in 1990 by some of the relatives of the victims who were executed at this site, to hold the bones excavated from the pits nearby. The number of mass graves excavated at this site is 55, and the number of victims killed there is estimated as 35,000.
The KR used the bolt of a door to hit us on the head when they counted the number of prisoners before they gave us food. The prisoners were shackled, with the women separated from the man. The prison was built of wood and roofing tiles, and was as big as this field.
She was released after 4 months when the KR realized that they had made a mistake, because her husband was only a mechanic, but by this time her husband and two of her children had been killed.
+ Koh Kor (Saang District)
The Manager of the Koh Kor Island Development Area met us there, and we then walled about 1 Km across an estuary to Koh Kor Island, where he showed us the site of five mass graves, and a wooden memorial containing more than 1,000 femurs. There were some skulls, but the Manager informed us that many of the skulls had been removed from this memorial, and taken to several wats in the area. We were informed that there had been a purpose built prison at this site during the Pol Pot time, but were unable to interview any witnesses at this site. Estimated 5-7,000 victims killed there.
+ Koh Thmey (Saang District)
When we met the Commune Chief, Ms. Sok Bol, who when accompanied us by ferry across to Koh Thmey island. Here she showed us the ruined wat and school which had been used as a prison by the KR. In 1976 New people, including her husband, were imprisoned and killed here, and after 1976 base people were imprisoned and killed at this site. Here two children were taken to Koh Kor and killed.
+ Wat Chumpuk Keik (kean Svay)
We drove back along the road (Hun Sen Hwy) through Saang District to Kean Svay, and after lunch we arrived at Wat Chumpuk Keik. Here we met the Deputy Chief of the District, and were shown the wat and school buildings, which were used as prisons in The KR time, with mass graves all around these buildings, and a large brick and tile memorial containing thousands of skulls. We were told that many New People had been brought here in 1976 to be killed, and also that many victims were loaded onto boats at this Wat and were taken down the bassac to the islands to be killed. We were able to interview two witnesses who were prisoners at this site;
1) Say Um, Male age 68 years : He said that he was '' base person '', and that he was put in that prison because he was accused of being an accessory to thieves who had stolen from Champuk Keik. The thieves were former KR soldiers who had escaped from their camp, and who were looking for food. When he did not confess, he was hit with a chair and wooden sticks, than shackled and put in the prison with 25 other prisoners. Prisoners were provided with gruel to eat made from boiled rice and a little corn, and at 6 o'clock every evening they were taken away to be killed.
2) Bun Theun, female age 40 years: '' I knew that my parents were sick, and I went to visit them. I was caught by santesok and put into the school which was used as a prison with four other.

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