The Ministry of Justice has formed a Telegram messaging group hosted by 10 legal experts who will respond to questions and explain matters to citizens who have questions about the law to prevent the spread of Covid-19, especially regarding the obligations and penalties related to wearing masks.
Over 10,000 citizens have joined the group within the first three days of its launch.
Justice ministry spokesperson Kim Santepheap said the purpose behind forming the Telegram group “Explanation of the Law on Covid-19” was to explain and interpret legal aspects of the law in addition to informing citizens about other measures that the ministry may implement.
“So, if people are curious about law enforcement on Covid-19 and what the standard penalties and obligations are or what is banned, please ask immediately in this group [sponsored by] the justice ministry. We have [experts] immediately responding to questions related to the legal aspects of Covid-19 in Cambodia,” he said.
He added that citizens who joined the group were mostly curious about legal issues related to wearing masks and social distancing measures.
The justice ministry has generally responded to them that they have to wait for the Ministry of Health to announce detailed instructions related to these topics and once they did then they could impose monetary fines and punishments in accordance with their guidelines.
Santepheap said that he headed a technical working group that held a meeting on March 21 to have discuss these matters with health ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine and other relevant officials and that they reviewed a draft announcement from the health ministry that mandates mask wearing and social distancing.
“After the sub-decree, the health ministry must mandate where people must wear masks and socially distance and on March 21 we examined the draft agreed upon by both working groups. The groups discussed the draft and then approved it to be sent to His Excellency Minister of Health, Mam Bun Heng for his review and approval.
“I cannot yet inform citizens of a specific date when we will dictate these obligations to the public because we must wait for a formal decision by the [health minister],” he said.
Santepheap confirmed that the upcoming announcement, when finally approved and issued, will definitively answer the questions surrounding when and where people are obliged to wear masks and socially distance.
The announcement would also identify exceptions to these rules, for example, what kind of individuals might be allowed to forego wearing a mask or which sites are exceptions.
Santepheap explained that individuals who don’t wear masks and socially distance would not be fined or punished immediately – they get a warning and instructions, first.
“We have two measures for those who are obliged to wear masks and socially distance. First, we give them a warning and instructions. Second, we fine them if they won’t comply,” he said.