Conrary to consistently rosy medical reports, Nuon Chea’s health is failing to improve even after his second hospitalisation, defence co-counsel Son Arun said yesterday.

“Today, Mr. Nuon Chea was a little bit more bad, because he coughed too much last night,” Arun said, adding that the Khmer Rouge second-in-command needed assistance even to relieve himself.

Nuon Chea was hospitalised for almost three weeks before being released last Thursday, only to be re-admitted two days later.

Despite Arun’s insistence that reports on Nuon Chea’s improving health were flawed, the trial chamber said on January 31 that it “notes reports from medical doctors” and was “not going to hear more from [Arun] on this case”. 

A hearing to determine Nuon Chea’s fitness to stand trial is scheduled for March.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart White at [email protected]