Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Streets ‘swept’ pre-funeral

Streets ‘swept’ pre-funeral

People put the finishing touches on decorations at the cremation site yesterday afternoon in Wat Botum Park
People put the finishing touches on decorations at the cremation site yesterday afternoon in Wat Botum Park ahead of today’s funeral procession for former CPP president Chea Sim. Heng Chivoan

Streets ‘swept’ pre-funeral

Ahead of today’s funeral for former Senate president Chea Sim, Daun Penh district authorities have rounded up 171 homeless persons, drug abusers and sex workers, though have refused to say whether the street sweeps are related to the ceremonies.

Daun Penh district Deputy Governor Sok Penhvuth, who led this week’s operations, said that since Monday authorities have been paying special attention to locations such as the riverside, Oddna Loam Pagoda, Wat Koh Pagoda and areas near the National Museum and Botum Vatey Pagoda Park, where Sim’s body is to be cremated.

Yesterday at 3am, he said, authorities gathered 51 people, including 16 sex workers, nine homeless and 26 addicts, the third such mass sweep that has taken place this week.

“Besides maintaining regulations, this operation has been carried out to respond to complaints by local people, since there are many homeless people who consume drugs and bother local residents, as well as affect the safety of girls who go to school early in the morning and come home late in the evening,” Penhvuth claimed.

Kim Vutha, chief of Daun Penh district security, the same ad hoc security force notorious for myriad violent confrontations with protesters, said that 100 district guards have been dispatched to apprehend “transients” in the capital.

“We launch this measure when we think it affects people in the evening and early morning,” he said. “The captured people are those children who do not go home, people who use drugs; some come from the provinces . . . and some are prostitutes who [openly] run their business.”

Vutha added that among the 171 people apprehended, 103 were women. They have been sent to the Social Affairs office.

Phnom Penh Social Affairs director Sorn Sophal said that upon receiving those rounded up, his department has sent them to different locations according to classification: children have been sent to education centres; sex workers have been sent to rehabilitation and career centres to assist them in finding a new trade; drug users have been sent to rehab.

“Recently, we have made contact with more partners in order to [assist] in taking these homeless people to education and rehabilitation centres temporarily,” he said. “Now, some organisations have come and taken care of some of them.”

Meanwhile, according to an announcement by Phnom Penh City Hall, Chea Sim’s funeral will officially be held from 6am to 12pm today. The procession will begin at Sim’s home at #12, Street 462, before proceeding to the park near Botum Vatey, where King Norodom Sihamoni will light the funeral pyre.

Parts of Norodom Boulevard, Sihanouk Boulevard and Sothearos will be shut down during the funeral march.

MOST VIEWED

  • 12th Cambodia int’l film festival to see return of Hollywood star

    Phnom Penh is set to come alive with the magic of cinema as the highly anticipated 12th Cambodia International Film Festival (CIFF) takes centre stage. Boasting an impressive line-up of 188 films from 23 countries, including captivating shorts, feature films, documentaries and animation, the festival promises an

  • Brawl marrs football final as Indonesian take gold in seven goal thriller

    The Indonesian men's U22 men national football team were crowned champions of the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, defeating Thailand 5-2 in extra time on May 16 at Olympic National Stadium in Phnom Penh. The match was marred by an ugly incident that occured in the 91

  • Bareknuckle champion wants Kun Khmer fighter

    Dave Leduc, who is the current openweight Lethwei boxing champion in Myanmar, has announced that he will travel to Cambodia this year to challenge SEA Games gold medallist Prum Samnang any time that is convenient, after their planned match later this month in Slovakia was

  • Candlelight Party disqualified from July general election

    The National Election Committee (NEC) has disqualified the Candlelight Party (CP) from contesting the upcoming general election, citing a lack of valid documentation. NEC spokesman Khorn Keomono said the CP failed to fulfil one of the three main requirements: including original documentation proving their registration

  • Thong Khon calls for orderly SEA Games closing ceremony

    Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism and permanent vice-president of the Cambodia SEA Games Organising Committee (CAMSOC), calls on all people who have received tickets to the May 17 closing ceremony of the biennial multi-sports extravaganza at the Morodok Techo National Stadium to ensure that the event

  • 1.4 billion dollar Phnom Penh-Bavet expressway due in four years

    The Government, through the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, has officially signed a public-private partnership agreement with a private company for the construction of a Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway project that will connect the capital to Svay Rieng province. The budget for the project is