Minister of Interior Sar Kheng wants to fix the issue of over-crowded prisons. ministry of interior
Minister of Interior Sar Kheng led a meeting with other ministries on Friday to tackle the issue of overcrowded prisons.
The meeting was requested by Minister of Justice Koeut Rith to seek support and collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior to implement measures by the end of this week.
It was attended by the Ministry of Interior’s director-general of the General Department of Prisons Chan Kimseng, Rith and other secretaries of state, deputy secretaries of state and director-generals from the two ministries.
“The meeting today was held at the request of the Ministry of Justice and relates to the sizes of prisons and the excessive number of cases.
“During the Covid-19 crisis, some countries have released prisoners but Cambodia has not reached that situation yet,” Sar Kheng said.
He said the issue is closely tied to the government’s fight against drugs. Drug offences far outweigh others and it’s not allowed to give clemency or lower punishments for such offences, he said.
Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin confirmed on Sunday that measures should be in place by the end of the week.
“The Ministry of Justice has met with lawyers, Prime Minister Hun Sen’s lawyer, Municipal and Provincial Courts and the Supreme Court to cooperate with them,” he said.
Malin said a future announcement will show the scope of the measures, who will practice them and their expected results.
Kimseng referred The Post to Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak, but he could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
General Department of Prisons spokesman Nuth Savna told The Post last week that there are 40,000 prisoners in detention in the country and most of them were convicted of drug offences.
The issue of overcrowded prisons could be solved by accelerating the sentencing process of those in detention, Savna said.
NGO Adhoc spokesman Soeng Sen Karuna said after he reviewed the legal procedures of justice officers, he concluded that suspects should not be detained for minor offences.
“There should be inspections in prisons to see if the manners and attitudes of prisoners have changed. If they acknowledge their mistakes, forgiving them and lowering their punishment should be considered,” he said.
