Cambodia Daily correspondent received death threat after criticizing Prime Minister Hun Sen

Description

On June 19th, Taing Sarada, chief correspondent and anchor for The Cambodia Daily, claimed he received a death threat from Pheng Vannak, a pro-government social media personality, after Sarada criticized Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family on the Idea Talk news program.

Sarada shared voice messages apparently from Vannak saying he “would chop Sarada’s head with an ax if Sarada entered Cambodia.” Sarada, who lives abroad, also accused Vannak of threatening his family, including his parents who still live in Cambodia, and suggesting CPP agents in the US could hurt him.

“After I received these threats, last Wednesday at around 1 pm, a stranger knocked loudly on our door, but we dare not open it,” Sarada said “My parents in law and my eight-years old son were so scared. At 4 pm, the same day, I saw a strange black car, which looked like a surveillance car, stop and park in front of my house while the passengers remained inside the vehicle for several hours.”

On June 22, in another Facebook livestream, Pheng Vannak said he would not hesitate to destroy anyone who destroyed peace and stability in Cambodia.

Information
Number of attacked persons or entities related to media
1
Do they work as freelance or media?
Yes
Position in media
Status of journalists
Gender
Male
Age
Country
Phnom Penh Capital
Full name or name of group
Identified
The name of perpetrator (individual/group)
Pheng Vannak
Gender
Attack mention about gender background/sexual wording?
No
Date of incident
Type of incident
Online intimidation