Sex Offender Given Light Sentence after Years of Abuse

Khmer Times / Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Wednesday, 10 February 2016

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School of Vice: No matter how heinous these criminal acts are, they are unlikely to warrant their due sentence and punishment as the state can ill-afford to keep the culprits locked up for too long without incurring the necessarily already overstretched resources and expenses. Only "crimes" of a political nature may guarantee the full attention of the relevant authorities!

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Former orphanage director Hang Vibol arrives at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for his trial. KT/ Mai Vireak

The former head of the child protection NGO APLE, and later the director of the Our Home orphanage and school, was convicted yesterday and sentenced to three years in prison after sexually abusing 11 children inside Our Home between 2009 and last year.
 

Hang Vibol, 46, was charged with an “indecent act against a minor under fifteen years with aggravating circumstances” under article 248 of the penal code, according to Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge Kim Ratnarin.
 

“Based on the hearing, evidence and the testimonies of victims in this case, the court has found that Hang Vibol is guilty despite denying it,” he said.
 

In addition to his three years behind bars, Mr. Vibol was also fined eight million riel to be paid to the state as well as 30 million riel to be paid in compensation to his victims.
 

Mr. Vibol was arrested on March 2, 2015 after complaints of sexual abuse from children living inside his orphanage made their way to police. 11 children were victims of Mr. Vibol’s abuse, including nine boys and two girls, deputy prosecutor Top Chhunglong said.
 

He added that before Mr. Vibol’s arrest, he had been abusing his victims, orphans living in his center, for a period that spanned six years.
 

“He asked boys to do massages for him inside his room in his organization’s center,” he said. His sexual offenses included the touching of genitals, and oral and anal sex. He also sexually abused his two adopted daughters, one five-year-old and one seven-year-old.
 

Chea Sophy, the defense lawyer for the victims, said that Mr. Vibol’s sentence was paltry considering his offenses.
 

“I think that his sentence was light, but I can accept it,” he told Khmer Times.
 

Mr. Vibol said that the court’s verdict was unjust for him. He will appeal it to a higher court soon.
 

“I cannot accept this court’s decision because it was an injustice for me because I did not commit anything as accused,” he told Khmer Times outside courtroom yesterday.
 

“To find the truth and justice in this case, I will appeal it to the Appeals Court,” he said, adding that some of the victims who sued him had never stayed in his center.
 

During his trial earlier this year, Mr. Vibol vehemently denied the charges against him, saying the accusations were part of a plot to destroy his reputation by former staff members. He has requested the court drop charges against him and release him.
 

 Mr. Vibol’s defense lawyer Suy Sokhon said that according to Mr. Vibol, those who prepared the plot were Jean Marie Anno and APLE founder Thierry Darnaudet, both French nationals who worked with Mr. Vibol at APLE. Mr. Vibol further accused the two men of embezzling APLE donor money and preparing false reports. The two were allegedly angry with Mr. Vibol because of the accusations.
 

 According to the police report, Mr. Vibol’s arrest came as a result of a joint operation by APLE Cambodia and the Ministry of Social Affairs, and was based on victims’ complaints which had been filed with the Ministry of Interior’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Unit.
 

According to the victims’ answers, Mr. Vibol frequently asked the children living inside his center to enter his room, and he ordered them to “play with his genitals.”