Soaring temperatures during the hot season in Cambodia has led to water shortages in prisons and is causing inmates’ health to suffer, family members and activists say.
Kak Komphea, a former leader of the now-banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party in Prey Sar Prison on incitement charges, is crammed in a 4-square-meter room with more than 10 other prisoners at, according to his wife, Prum Chantha.
He’s allowed only about 15 liters of unclean water per day – about a bucketful – for bathing, she said. “The prisoners are already living in difficult circumstances. This has tortured his body,” she said. “Even though it isn’t physical abuse, it is the same.”
Another arrested opposition party official – Toch Theung of the Candlelight Party – has been suffering from heat-related illness and was recently under medical treatment at Pursat Provincial Prison for more than a week, according to his wife, Hanh Sovanna.
Cambodia’s hot season lasts from February to April, when temperatures can rise to as high as 40 degrees Celsius (102 F).
The Ministry of Health issued an advisory on April 7 urging people to drink at least 2 liters of water a day – and avoid drinking alcohol and coffee, which can cause dehydration.
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The Ministry of Interior followed that up with instructions to prisons throughout the country to follow the Ministry of Health’s guidelines, according to Prison Department spokesman Nuth Savna. Each prison will strive to supply enough water during the hot weather, he told RFA Khmer.
Water shortages found
Human rights group Licadho said its investigators have found a lack of water at several prisons throughout the country, said Am Sam Ath.
If the government doesn’t address the shortage issue soon, the number of health problems among prisoners will rise, he said
Opposition activist and union leader Rong Chhun, who has been imprisoned several times, said the government lacks the will to address water shortages in prisons.
Interior Minister Sar Sokha acknowledged at a ministry meeting last October that the country’s prisons have become overcrowded. The total number of inmates has increased to more than 40,000 nationwide, he said.
Another well-known prisoner, Ny Nak, is also dealing with health problems related to hot conditions and overcrowding at Trapeang Phlong Prison in Tboung Khmum province, according to his wife, Sok Syneth.
In September, Ny Nak was badly beaten by about eight assailants on the streets of Phnom Penh just hours after he panned a Ministry of Agriculture report on rice prices.
He was arrested in January just after he posted a comment on Facebook that mocked a Ministry of Commerce statement about registering 10,000 new companies in 2024.
His wife, Sok Syneth, has asked court officials to transfer her husband to Prey Sar, where family members and lawyers can more easily monitor his health.
According to the law, when a person commits a crime, he or she should be imprisoned in the capital or province where crimes are committed, said Yi Soksan, a senior official at Adhoc, the country’s oldest human rights group.
Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.