In a meeting of the National Council of Cambodia for Women on Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen called for more compassion in the sentencing of female inmates who have children to care for and are divorced and urged greater use of suspended sentencing.
Hun Sen called on the ministries of Justice, and Women’s Affairs, to accelerate trial procedure and reduce sentences for female prisoners who are lone mothers.
“The Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Ministry of Justice should review [legal proceedings for] female prisoners, bring them to trial quickly and reduce their punishment because some face many problems, such as having children to care for [alone after] being divorced by their husband."
“[Authorities] need to look to suspend [prison sentences] and releasing them with understanding and tolerance for women. They should not wait until the major festivals to release them by [royal pardon], especially the upcoming Khmer New Year [in April],” the prime minister said.
Ministry of Interior spokesman for the General Prison Department, Nuth Savna, told The Post on Monday that there were currently around 170 mothers with children and 51 pregnant inmates in Cambodia’s prisons.
They were housed in different cells from other female prisoners in order to prevent the children and babies from being exposed to infection and catching diseases.
Overcrowding was a problem in male prisons, Savna said, with some cells holding up to 50 to 60 prisoners, while female cells held around only 10 inmates.
Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin said in regards to female prisoners, the courts usually released vulnerable women on bail while they awaited trial, while some had their sentences suspended after being found guilty.
He said the ministry could release prisoners on humanitarian grounds on three major holidays – Water Festival, Pchum Ben and Win-Win Day, on December 29. The royal pardons were usually granted to vulnerable inmates, such as pregnant women and those with children, and elderly and sick prisoners.
“Based on the recommendation [of Prime Minister Hun Sen], the Ministry of Justice will work more closely with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in order to speed up court procedures for women."
“It means that for women, the court will try to issue their verdicts quickly,” he said.
