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May 31, 2016 khmertimeskh.com
New Prison for Wealthy on Way
A new detention center designed to house wealthy inmates will be
constructed behind Prey Sar prison by the
government in conjunction with private company Kunry
Khon Holding, according to General Department of
Prisons spokesman Nuth Savna
yesterday. The agreement
for the construction of Cambodia’s first “modern” prison was signed yesterday
at the Ministry of Interior. According to Mr. Savna, the
prison’s 1.5 hectare plot of land will now begin to be built on, but he could
not give details as to how much the project will cost since Kunry Khon is responsible for
its design. The new
facilities will be equipped to ensure the safety, security and hygiene of any
prisoner who can afford to serve his sentence there, Mr. Savna
added, saying that those who are able to foot the bill will be allowed to
move from the state-owned prison system to the private prison. “Despite it
being privately owned, security is under the control of the prison
department. It is not a prison for rich or the poor,” he said. “There is no
discrimination of prisoners, but when some prisoners move to the new one, it
could also reduce the numbers of inmates in the old prison.” Now there are
about 4,400 prisoners in Prey Sar’s Correctional
Center 1, which was designed to accommodate only 1,200. As a result, many
prisoners have been moved to other prisons such as CC3 in Tbong
Khmum and CC4 in Pursat
province. The price of
rooms in the new private prison has not yet been set, but will be overseen by
the Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Logistics and Finance, Mr. Savna said, adding that drug rehabilitation and medical
services will be available to those detained there. Kunry Khon Holding Company could not be reached for comment
about the project yesterday. Prison facilities across Cambodia have been criticized
for their treatment of prisoners, spartan accommodation, poor healthcare services and lack
of water for daily usage are all cited as commonplace. Am Sam Ath, technical supervisor for rights group Licadho, which has monitored the Kingdom’s prison system,
said construction of the new prison is not a black and white issue. “The
prisoners who can afford to pay for this facility,
they won’t even face any difficulty in the prison so how can they change
their attitude?” Mr. Sam Ath asked. More
important than plush new buildings is the education of existing prisoners so
they can be reintegrated into society after their release, resulting in a
slow decrease in country-wide crime rates, he added.
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