Chen Vorn

VPA-KD0050

Chen Vorn

Female

Khmer

Khmer

Khnoat, Bakou, Kandal Stung, Kandal

19520412

Farmer

Khnoat Village, Bakou Commune, Kandal Stung District, Kandal Province

197808

Sang Prison

Detention in Sang Prison:

One evening in August 1978, at around 6:00 after I had finished plowing a field, about ten Khmer Rouge cadres arrived and announced my name as well as the names of 21 other women in my plowing group. I can only recall a few names of those who worked in my group, namely Sok (now living in Veal Kandaol Village), Seng (living in Veal Kandaol Village), Hieng (living in Veal Kandaol Village), Sao (living in O-Andaung Village), and Vat (living in O-Andaung Village). We were initially told by the unit chief Thon that we were called to help carry machinery. However, once we reported to them, we were shocked when they immediately blindfolded us with their scarves and tied our hands behind our backs. Later at around 7:00 p.m., they pushed us onto the truck. I did not know where we were being taken. The next morning, I realized that I was in Sang Detention Center located near Tonle Bati (Bati River). I did not know why we were detained or under what charges we were arrested.

I was interrogated in the prison. They asked: “Comrade! What did you do during the imperialist society?� I responded that I did nothing, but in return, I was beaten by cadres named Mao, Tha and Him. They are alive and live near Sang. After beating me, they repeated their question. The questioning and beating continued until I could no longer bear the pain and so I decided to tell them I was a commando. With this confession, they seemed to be satisfied and stopped beating me. After that, they sent me back to the cell and I was given gruel mixed with rice hulls to eat. In the cell, we were not tied up but our ankles were shackled. We were beaten regardless of whether we were inside or outside the center. My plowing group members were kept together and mistreated in the same way. Sometimes when we were thirsty, instead of providing water they kicked us and we fell to the ground. My elder brother and younger brother were also detained in Sang Prison. I never saw them during the course of my detention. I only saw their clothes being kept in the warehouse. This made me think that my two brothers were dead or that they would return home after the collapse of the Khmer Rouge. Men and women were housed separately. We had to sleep and produce human waste in the same place. Life in prison was miserable. I was angry because I had committed no crime, yet I was severely mistreated in the prison.

Part C:

My name is Chen Vorn and I am currently living in Khmutt Village, Bakou Commune, Kandal Stung District, Kandal Province. Since leaving the prison after the liberation in 1979, I continue to suffer from various illnesses as a result of the torture perpetrated on me in Sang Prison by the Khmer Rouge. I am traumatized and suffer from insomnia, headaches, dizziness and blinding vision. In particular, whenever I think of the past, I experience dizziness, vomit, and burst into tears. I received psychological support from the VOT project [Victim of Torture] of the Documentation Center of Cambodia and obtained medicine from the local district hospital.

Prior to the reign of Pol Pot, I lived in Phnom Penh with my family. After 17 April 1975, I was evacuated, along with many other residents of Phnom Penh, to Bakou Commune, Kandal Stung District, Kandal Province. Soon after my arrival, I was assigned to work with the base people in the village. Besides being overworked, having little to eat, and being separated from my family, I was arrested and detained in Sang Prison for nearly a year.

Civil Party

No;

Mental Hospital

No;

20081003

© DC-Cam