Kung Naut

VPA-KT0136

Kung Naut

Male

Khmer

Khmer

Trach Chrum Village, Sam Proch Commune, Stong District, Kampong Thom Province

19480918

Farmer

Trach Chrum Village, Sam Proch Commune, Stong District, Kampong Thom Province, Cambodia

Kok Snay Village, Sam Proch Commune, Stong District, Kampong Thom Province

Torture:

Under the Khmer Rouge regime, I was tortured on four occasions by being tied up and beaten with a stick. Chheng, the cooperative chief, beat me because when I was tending the buffalo, I let them eat rice, and this was not beneficial for the cooperative. I was beaten four times with a stick and taken to the communal office at Kok Svay Village for five days. I was not allowed to walk freely during my five-day-detention, before being released. Then I returned to tend the buffalo again.

I was so terrified during the Khmer Rouge regime that I suffer from poor memory until the present day.

Yoeuk, an evacuee from Phnom Penh, was tortured by being bitten by red ants because he stole rice from the cooperative. This incident took place in 1976. I saw Yoeuk scream loudly throughout the whole village, asking for help. However, no one dared to help him, and the red ants bit him to death. I do not know who tortured him with this technique.

Execution:

In 1975, my father died from starvation in Kok Sany Village, Sam Proch Commune. Pol Pot starved my father to death. If we did not do the assigned work, we would be given no food ration. I knew that when most people in my group were ordered to grow potatoes, they were actually taken to be executed. When I served in the depositee unit (comprised of new people), I had to condition myself to the work since my knees were bigger than my head because of starvation. If I did not work, I would have been executed. In 1975, most people in Kok Snay Village were killed. I do not know who killed them, but the cooperative chiefs named Chheng and Ran ordered the killings.

Starvation:

From 1975 to late 1978, I was famished, given only a ladle of watery gruel mixed with morning glory for nutrition. Meals were scheduled at ten a.m. and six p.m. I was a depositee evacuated from Kampong Thom provincial town. The cooperative chiefs starved me. The cooperative chiefs were Chheng, Ran, an elderly man named Ol, and an elderly man named Kha, who lived in Kok Snay Village. I was overworked, but received only watery gruel to eat, and thus I suffered from starvation.

Forced labor:

During the dry season, my task was to carry earth at the Sauphy construction site and during the rainy season, I had to do farming at Kok Snay. My work lasted from four a.m. to midday and from one p.m. to six p.m. I did these tasks because I was given orders by the cooperative chief. I dared not refuse the orders of the cooperative because I feared that the cooperative chief would kill me. I dared not say a word, but endured and carried out the orders. Between 1976 and 1977, I was assigned to build this construction site and do the rainy season farming.

Evacuation:

I was evacuated from Kampong Thom provincial town to Sdan Lakk, and then to Kok Snay Village. I could not return to Trach Chrum Village. Khmer Rouge soldiers evacuated people to Spean Lakk Village, telling everyone they had to leave the village. As Pol Pot took control of Kampong Thom, they needed to evacuate people. In 1975, I was evacuated out of Kampong Thom Province.

Complainant

No;

Road

No;

20080319

© DC-Cam