Mapping The Killing Fields Of Cambodia, 1997.

D119684

Mapping The Killing Fields Of Cambodia, 1997.

Enighisgl

Cambodia

26/03/1997

DC-Cam/D119684 09/04/2025

Prey Veng Province

Prey Veng Province

DC-Cam/Documentation Center of Cambodia

Cambodia

Documentation computer(tx), Documents 17 peag

The witness claimed that Khmer Rouge security cadres started building the prison in 1974. The prison was finished in 1978-79. He told that in 1974, many Lon Nol soldiers were killed. During 1975-77, from March to April, the security cadres killed urban citizens, base people who committed mistakes, suspected CIA members and infiltrators.
The prisoners were mostly male; there were no children. Two or three people were brought to the prison each day and there was no chance for them to survive. The prisoners who were alleged to have committed light mistakes were ordered to dig the pits. The witness added that the victims had been told that they were being taken to be educated. The witness claimed that the severe genocide took place in 1977, and 1978. By early 1979, no prisoners were left alive. The perpetrators were Kim, San, Bo, Im and some other unknowns. Each of these people have disappeared. The detailed information is available in the tapes and photo documents. We took photographs of the documents and genocidal sites. The second witness is Hem Soy, 46, 1.60meter tall, black complexion, long sleeve white shirt, a watch and black hair. In Pol Pot regime, he was a bodyguard of Song, the chief of srok Kanh Chreach. In 1977-78, when southwestern people arrived, he became an ordinary citizen. Since 1979, he has worked in the justice office of srok Kanh Chreach. We interviewed and photographed him. He used to visit the security center of phum Svay, khum Preal. One of his sisters was killed there. He said that the prison was built during 1973-74 and was finished in 1978. The kinds of victims killed here varied from year to year. Before 1975, the victims were mostly Lon Nol soldiers and prisoners of war, although base people accused of being infiltrators, and Khmer Rouge cadres who indulged in sex, or who were suspected to be infiltrators or of having contact with Lon Nol soldiers were also killed. After 1975, victims were mostly urban people, inhabitants who had committed mistakes or those who used to be military policemen, spies, custom officers, teachers, or students. The prisoners were placed separately, based on the mistakes they had made. Regardless, all of them had no chance to survive and were killed in 1978 and early 1979.

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