Sao Horn

VPA-KT0057

Sao Horn

Female

Khmer

Khmer

Sleng Khpuos village, San Kor commune, Kampong Svay district, Kampong Thom province

19550309

Farmer

Sleng Khpuos village, San Kor commune, Kampong Svay district, Kampong Thom province, Cambodia

1977

Khmaoch village based in Tambauk forest, well in Brasat pagoda

Execution:

In 1977 (Year of the Snake), a major flood caused every road to sink under water. At the time, I was sick and stayed at Brasat Pagoda, to be treated for my high fever. I was hospitalized for about half a month. I saw an elderly man named Tapp and another elderly man (whose name I do not remember), villagers of Krasaig Kha Village, Sankor Commune, walking with Saom, a woman who worked with me in the mobile unit. I saw Saom, whose hands were tied behind her back, being walked to the east of Brasat Pagoda where there were bushes and an old well.

Later, the elderly man named Tapp and the other elderly man returned, but without Saom. I thought that her disappearance meant death, because she had been taken to a ghost village where lots of people had become sick and died and had also been taken to be executed. I do not know why Saom was taken to be executed there, but she worked carrying earth next to Brasat Pagoda. I do not know who ordered the killing of Saom, but I know that the elderly man named Ta Tapp and the other elderly man took and killed Saom.

Starvation:

Under the Khmer Rouge regime, I was starved in Bay Vork Village. Three or four people were given only one can of rice to eat. Sometimes, three or four people ate collectively, and sometimes they ate individually. When we ate collectively, we ate a kind of water lily soup with a few fish. If I ate individually, I had to go and find vegetables by myself. However, food rations were always insufficient because the cooperative provided only rice and we all had to search for food. If I wasn’t able to find food, I would have to work picking up cow dung, and my ration would be cut in half, compared to those people who had a normal workload. Mealtimes were eleven a.m. and four p.m. Only when the bell was rung could we go and eat in the dining hall of Bay Vork Village. Khean was chief of the economic unit, in charge of rice. The upper level Khmer Rouge ordered the starvation.

Forced labor:

During the Khmer Rouge regime, under the assignment given by Leav, the chief of the commune mobile unit, I was forced to work because if I did not go to work, I would be starved. In the rainy season, I did the farming at Phem fields, next to the entrance of Tbaung forest of Phem dike, four kilometers from Sbeng Khpuos Village. Suon was the Sankor commune chief who ordered me to grow rainy season rice at Phem field. I worked day and night doing the farming at Phem field. I woke up at seven a.m., leaving Sleng Kpuos Village to harvest, do the farming at Phem fields, and work until eleven a.m. Then I ate my midday meal there.

After eating, I continued to do the harvesting until six p.m. After having dinner, I continued to work until eight p.m. before going to bed. I do not know why I had to work day and night everyday. I worked hard doing the farm work and produced lots of rice, but the ration was insufficient.

Along with other people who worked in the Sankor Commune mobile unit, Leav assigned me to work on building the 5 January Dam, located next to Santuk Mountain. I carried one cubic meter of earth everyday. Next I carried earth at Chongda Dam, to the west of 5 January Dam. Later on, I carried earth at 30 September Dam. I returned to Nak Sen Village and dug a canal along the paddy fields. I went to dig earth at Snaydei of La-ak Village, Sankor Commune. I went to dig out termite mounds and uproot trees and forest bamboo in Snaydei Forest. I do not know why they relocated me to work in that way, but I had to follow the assignment given by Leav, the commune mobile unit chief, and Nav, who was the commune chief.


Stealing corn:

In 1977, when the worst flood occurred, I was sitting in a house located in Sleng Khpuos Village and saw Chhun and Nhoar steal corn and hide it in the waist of their trousers. Suon, the Sankor commune chief, caught them, beat Chhun’s fingers with a small stick (the size of a big toe), and kicked and slapped both of them. They were beaten by Suon, an elderly man, and his two colleagues – one was the village chief, and the other one was unknown to me. After being beaten by Suon, the commune chief, Chhun and Nhoar were released and returned home. They then became sick. A month after being beaten, Nhoar died, but Chhun survived. Now, he lives in Bo Tum Village, Stong District . After witnessing the punishment of those two who stole corn, I became terrified because I had also stolen corn just like Chhun and Nhoar. But Suon had never caught me.

During the economic meeting in the village, Suon, the commune chief, called upon all village people to attend the meeting. I was the only one to stay at home, along with the children. Five children, Chhun and Nhoar (who had been arrested), and three others, including me and two other children, whose names I do not know and who stole the corns together , but Suon did not catch us.

Persecution:

In 1977, my younger sibling, Vat, and I defected from Nak Sen to Sleng Khpuos Village. Upon our arrival in the village, Leav, the mobile unit chief, captured and transferred us back to Nak Sen Village, tying our hands behind our backs with a Kramah, [a traditional Cambodian scarf] around a Kraseng tree for one night in Nak Sen Village. My sibling and I were tied up in the middle of the warehouse of the mobile unit to prevent us from escaping again.

In 1977, an elderly man named Muon and two children were starved to death. An elderly woman named Him was starved to death. Prior to her death, she was famished and had no rice to eat. I do not know why those people were starved to death. We produced rice, but had nothing to eat. I do not know who starved those four people, but Suon, the village chief, was responsible.

Complainant

No;

Road

No;

20080325

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