Law and judiciary
No trafficking victims in Phuket, says report
After months of research, the Human Trafficking Crime Prevention and Suppression Centre delivered its report this week with the stunning revelation that the task force found not a single case of human trafficking on Phuket island. Keep reading ...
Laos Christian in jail for praying dies after authorities refuse to give him medication
A man from Laos who was jailed for praying has died after he was refused vital treatment in prison. According to the Human Rights Watcher for Lao Religious Freedom group, Tiang Kwentianthong was imprisoned with four others last year, when he prayed for an elderly woman ...
Thai deputy PM takes over reform pick duties
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has assigned his deputy Prawit Wongsuwon to oversee the selection of members for the National Reform Steering Assembly and new constitution drafting committee while he attends the United Nations General Assembly. Speaking after a cabinet meeting on 22 September, Gen Prayut said he ...
Vientiane to install more CCTV cameras
Vientiane Traffic Police Department confirmed on 22 September that more Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras are set to be installed throughout the city, aiming to help officers investigate crimes in the capital. The department’s Deputy Director Lieutenant Colonel Bounmark Soundalay told Vientiane Times there are now over 200 ...
Lao officials fail to enforce government ban on timber exports
A recent ban on the export of raw logs imposed by the Lao government to increase the value of processed wood products is not being enforced in the country’s southern provinces because some national leaders are involved in timber smuggling, a civil society official with ...
Top cop says no capacity to convict
A high-ranking police official yesterday bemoaned Cambodia’s lack of capacity to fight cybercrime, just a week after the government’s announcement of a new Anti-Cybercrime Department prompted fears of an online clampdown on dissent. Keep reading ...
Child labor ring busted
The Government’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force have busted a Phnom Penh child labor ring, following a two-month investigation after a tip-off from the Khmer Times. The children would work all night selling fruit around the city, before returning to the tiny house in Chbar Ampov around ...
Arrested for praying, Laotian Christian dies in prison for lack of treatment
Tiang, a married father of six, died in jail waiting before his appeal could be heard. Although he suffered from diabetes, prison officials repeatedly denied him treatment. He and four others had been convicted for praying on behalf of a terminally ill woman, an act ...
Vietnam expels Chinese man for illegal mass earthworm hunting
Quang Tri border guards have deported a Chinese man who had asked locals to help him hunt earthworms using an illegal chemical and promised to buy the crawl for a high price. Gan DeQiang, 40, was also fined VND16 million (US$712) for his violations, according to ...
Thailand asked to probe fatal shooting on Vietnamese fishing boats
Vietnam on 17 September demanded Thailand to promptly investigate and handle Thai individuals involving in the fatal shooting of a Vietnamese fisherman at sea last week. Foreign ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said the ministry has sent a diplomatic note to the Thai embassy in Hanoi to ...