Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Sovantha critic faces jail after summons

Sovantha critic faces jail after summons

Popular Facebook user Sok Sovanvathana Sarapong faces potential arrest after being sued for defamation and "incitement" by CPP card carrying member Thy Sovantha. Facebook
Popular Facebook user Sok Sovanvathana Sarapong faces potential arrest after being sued for defamation and "incitement" by CPP card carrying member Thy Sovantha. Facebook

Sovantha critic faces jail after summons

A Phnom Penh Municipal Court prosecutor has requested the court put a popular social media user in pre-trial detention for ignoring a summons related to a defamation and “incitement” suit filed by fellow social media celebrity Thy Sovantha.

The Facebook user Sok Sovanvathana Sarapong, widely known as William Guang, can be put into pre-trial detention if directed by a Phnom Penh judge. The preliminary charges against him include defamation and incitement to discriminate, with the latter carrying a prison sentence of up to three years.

Documents from the prosecutor’s office show that Sovantha filed the suit on December 4, taking offence to Facebook posts from Sovanvathana Sarapong, which included him calling her an “evil person”, “a student who escaped her exams” and that “she deserved to be hit with a shoe”.

Sovanvathana Sarapong on Tuesday said he had received two summonses, asking for a delay because he was overseas. But he said Prosecutor Soeun Monyrath had ended the investigation, recommending arrest.

“She is a public figure and anybody can constructively criticise her,” he said, referring to an NGO she runs and her high-profile membership in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. He added that if he were to be arrested it would be based on illegal procedures from the prosecutor.

Sovantha has shown a proclivity for filing defamation cases against political leaders and social media users, especially those from the opposition. While she was aligned with the opposition during the 2013 elections, her relationship soured with the Cambodia National Rescue Party owing to her cosying up to Prime Minister Hun Sen and his party.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Tina rebuffs ‘false claims’ over falling paddy price

    Agriculture minister Dith Tina has shed light on the trade of paddy rice in Battambang – Cambodia’s leading rice-producing province – in a bid to curb what he dubs a “social media fact distortion campaign” to destabilise the market. While acknowledging that the prices of paddy

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm