PEDO-BUSTING NGO ALMOST BUST

The controversial pedophile-busting organisation APLE (Action pour les Enfants), which initiates many police actions due to its own undercover investigations, is holding a special meeting at the Victoria Hotel at 3pm this afternoon to discuss its dire financial situation, and to drum up support. Michael Horton, chairman and founder of ConCERT, has issued a cri de couer bulletin in support of APLE.

Horton says, “I have never written an email to you before that personally urges you take a particular action but this is what I’m doing today.

“APLE have investigative teams in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, and Siem Reap, and they have been very successful in both investigating suspected cases and also obtaining convictions.

“[APLE] are facing a severe funding crisis as one of their main donors is unable to continue supporting them. If they cannot find alternative support they will have to close their offices in Sihanoukville and Siem Reap and disband their teams, maybe as soon as the end of this year.

“None of us… want this to happen. I would urge you to attend the meeting so we can hear from APLE about the extent of the problem and also explore what we can do as a community to preserve the APLE office in Siem Reap.”

RESTAURANT-RATING WEBSITE LAUNCHES

Restaurant rating website, HungryGoWhere, launched at Abacus restaurant in Siem Reap on Wednesday night. The site, which originally launched in Singapore in March 2007, then spread to Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney and Melbourne, before launching in Phnom Penh in July last year.

Now it’s Siem Reap’s turn.

The site is run by HungryGoWhere Co Ltd and the director, Fon Supannakul, has overall responsible for sites in Cambodian cities, with the energetic Peter Jones in charge of sales and marketing.

Jones told Man About, “After having a lot of hit and miss dining experiences ourselves in Phnom Penh, and with the increasing numbers of restaurants in Phnom Penh, we figured it would be good to bring an online restaurant guide with readers' votes and reviews like HungryGoWhere.com from Singapore to Phnom Penh. With positive feedback and traffic we have been getting for Phnom Penh, we decided to officially launch HungryGoWhere Siem Reap site in September 2012.

CAMBODIA OPEN GOLF DATE STILL OPEN

According to assorted web chatter, the Johnnie Walker Cambodia Open golf tournament is slated to return to Siem Reap from December 12-15, 2013. Not so as yet, says Asian Tours, the organiser of the Open tournaments. Asian Tours’ media director, Chuah Choo Chiang, told Manabout, “We do not have anything confirmed for a Cambodian Open in 2013 although it is very much our intention to return to Siem Reap for a tournament should the opportunity arise.”

Golf experts also point out that if the Open is to return to Siem Reap next year, it probably won’t be in the end-of-the-year slot, but more likely mid-year. The Open has traditionally been held at Sofitel hotel’s 18-hole golf course at the Phokeethra Country Club, about a half-hour drive from the hotel. The course is being revamped in readiness for this year’s heavy tourist traffic.