Tribunal Suspect Im Chaem Calls Accusations Slanderous
Im Chaem spoke to VOA Khmer in an interview at her home in Anlong Veng district, Oddar Meanchey province, in July.
No, I don’t have much to say, but I want the prosecutor and the reporter to find justice for me because this is a charge on my life. I didn’t do it. I just want to emphasize the reason. I don’t have any anger or any reaction to have this resolved immediately, but I clearly want justice done. If not, because of this accuser, I’ll lose my life. Losing life, like I’m being accused, there are prison terms, and I don’t even know about it. If the prosecutor thinks I did bad things he’ll bring me to trial and I then wouldn’t I lose my life? I think the person who reported on me totally slandered me. The story is untrue. This is a bad person who plays a game with someone’s life. I don’t know much about suing. Therefore I am counting on you to bring your findings to the prosecutor in order for him to resolve the case to my satisfaction. If not I would be concerned about the charges against other people and myself. I don’t know who would want to slander me. I don’t know because when I got there I heard people talking about Phnom Trayoung. They put people with calamity, people who committed faults, there. That’s all I know, and I’ve never seen any of these people, not even once. No. I was not in charge of any prison. I don’t know anything, because when I went there it was at the end, and shortly after that the people were all dispersed. No. I don’t know. I didn’t order people to build Tumpaing Thmar dam. These three are all empty charges. These are very serious charges to bring me to court. That’s why I said I have no reason to go to court. But at this moment I am very grateful to you to let me know about these empty charges. I asked for help to solve this issue and to stop asking me all these questions. You can ask me any other questions, but if you ask me these questions, I don’t know. I’ll stop talking because I don’t know. I met him once; then he disappeared. I didn’t investigate further, and I don’t even know where they took him. That I didn’t. I don’t know because I didn’t do it. The reason I said I don’t know is because I don’t know. But if the persons who were in charge before me did something, I wouldn’t know, because I went afar just to encourage people to do farming to feed their families. My sole responsibility was to lead people to farm. I don’t know of any activities that the people who were in control before me might have done. The list was given to me when I got there. I saw 100,000 names on the list, but the head count of people I had made from each village added up to only 90,000. There were 10,000 people less than the number of people on the list. I don’t know for what purpose the people before me were using the list. But when they delivered that list to me I did use it to control the number of people in my district. No. There was a woman from Phnom Penh who said she met three girls at Tumpaing Thmar dam in Preah Net Preah district, but I said I didn’t do it. They said I built that dam. I didn’t build Tumpaing Thmar dam. So all the accusations leveled at me are false, unsubstantiated and undocumented. Why were the charges so clear at the prosecutor’s office? I still have suspicions. I can’t be very sure. I can’t point the finger to anyone because I’ll never know who would’ve reported on me. So I would like to send a message through you to the prosecutor who wants to find justice to make sure not to accuse people just like that. The person who reports is lying and slandering. This is the point where I’m not happy. I’m focusing my concern toward the person who accuses me. I don’t know who would have done this. The case involves life and death and is politically motivated. It is far different from my practices and actions, like earth and sky. If they come to see me, fine. If they ask me to go to court, I won’t go. If they take that person for further clarification, it’s fine. As for me, if they come to clarify with me at home I will say the same thing as I just said. I don’t know or I won’t say anymore than that. But what will happen to the person who makes these false accusations? No. Not at all. About my case, I didn’t even know that it involved the prosecutors. I didn’t know it at all. Therefore I am grateful to you to have learned about my case today. I thank you very much and wish you good luck. You brought me the news to wake me up from my sleep and to learn that I have been falsely accused.