Monday, January 23, 2017

Cambodia in brief: January 23, 2017


Chea Vichea’s death marked
Unionists, workers and civil society organisations yesterday marked the 13th anniversary of the killing of prominent union leader Chea Vichea, with many observers finding it hard to ignore the stark parallels between the case and the murder of political commentator Kem Ley last year.

Interior examines voter names
The Ministry of Interior on Friday sent a letter to the National Election Committee verifying 152 of the 179 names in seven suites of complaints related to the new digital voter list had legitimate identity cards and would remain on the final voter list.

Credit shows signs of cooling off
Credit growth in Cambodia saw a marginal slowdown last year while deposits continued to increase sharply, a combination that some in the financial sector believe reflects a more cautious lending environment and central bank interventionist policies beginning to take hold.

NGOs may have stymied government health care: report
A new study examining the development of health care in post-conflict societies suggests that the influx of NGOs in Cambodia may have weakened the government health sector.

Sokha takes to the provinces

With the avenue to political negotiations all but shut by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, Cambodia National Rescue Party acting president Kem Sokha instead hit the road on the weekend for his first provincial trip since emerging from six months of virtual house-arrest at the party’s headquarters.

NGOs ask for freedom for jailed rights staffers
Civil society organisations on Saturday once again called for the release of five jailed human rights staffers, two months after a United Nations body deemed their detention to be arbitrary.

Tax Department declares amnesty
The Tax Department has announced an amnesty for underpaid or undeclared taxes in a move that could incentivise greater compliance, experts said yesterday.

Vaccine program seeks to fight cancer
More than 13,000 9-year-old girls in Cambodia will receive an HPV vaccine over the next two years as part of a new program seeking to reduce the country’s dismal cervical cancer rates.

Three areas desginated for disabled musicians
Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Pa Socheatvong and a group of disabled musicians who perform for donations agreed on Friday to restrict performances to three designated areas, rather than on street corners throughout the capital, as had previously been the case.

Pangolins, gaur rescued
Environmental patrols rescued four critically endangered pangolins from traders in Koh Kong on Thursday, while in a separate case, a juvenile gaur was rescued and treated after being seriously injured by a snare trap in Battambang last week.

Migrants to Korea to see testing shake-up
Cambodians who work in South Korea will no longer have access to an expedited procedure to go back to South Korea once their contracts expire and they have to return to Cambodia, according to an announcement from the Ministry of Labour on Saturday.

Minister vows action against tobacco firms
Within almost six months of a sub-decree going into effect requiring graphic warnings on all cigarette packages, Health Minister Mam Bunheng issued a second warning this month to tobacco companies not complying with the regulations, threatening to take legal action.

Overturned truck injures four workers
Four people suffered mild injuries after a truck loaded with bricks crashed into an open-sided parking structure and overturned at the Preah Sihanouk provincial customs office in Stung Hav district’s Otres commune, traffic police said yesterday.

Man killed in robbery attempt
Police in Phnom Penh are hunting three suspects involved in an armed robbery early on Saturday in Chamkarmon district that left one man shot dead and two women injured.

Officials in Stung Treng see three timber hauls
Environmental authorities confiscated nearly eight cubic metres of illegal timber in three separate incidents on the weekend, with media alleging that Stung Treng provincial authorities attempted to intervene on one smuggler’s behalf – a charge they denied yestserday.

Man held for ‘torturing’ wife
A man charged with the use of violence against his wife is being held behind bars after allegedly badly beating his wife and attempting to set her on fire, Kampot provincial police officer Sao Samoeun said yesterday.

Former cop busted for drugs
A former commune police chief was arrested for alleged drug use in Kampot province a day after he was officially fired from his position, though accounts differed on the date of his removal.

Yojee to leverage Post Media’s delivery network
Yojee Ltd, an Australia-based logistics and supply chain management solution supplier, will partner with Post Media, the parent company of the Phnom Penh Post and Post Khmer, to establish its own technology-based logistics platform on top of Post Media’s existing daily newspaper delivery network, the company announced yesterday.

Passenger numbers rise 8.5% at airports
Passenger traffic to Cambodia’s three international airports continued to grow last year, with total arrivals and departures topping 7 million for the first time, according to the operator’s annual report.

FAST payment system transfers top 10B riel
Six months since the central bank launched its FAST payment system, a new scheme to provide instant riel-denominated fund transfers between financial institutions and their clients, the bank recorded a total fund transfer of 10 billion riel ($2.5 million) as of end-2016.


Fish farm project on the table
A Chinese firm and its local partner have floated a proposal for a $100 million aquaculture project in Cambodia that would include fish farms, a feed mill and a fish processing plant.

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