Two Journalists in Kandal Charged With Blackmail

Two online journalists from SSB TV News were charged with blackmail under Article 372, 373 of Criminal Code by the Kandal provincial court and sent to pre-trial detention at Kandal provincial prison on December 17, 2024.
According to the law, the journalists, So Sambo and Noeurb Bun, could face a jail term of two to five years and fine up to 10 million riel, if found guilty.
They were arrested by Kandal provincial police on December 15.
Police said the journalists who were arrested for extortion and forgery on December 15, committed the crime a day earlier in Sampoeu Poun town. The police did not mention who the complainant was in the case.
However, a screenshot posted by the Police Commissariat of Kandal on December 16, showed a two-way conversation via Telegram channel between a journalist and a person, known as Veasna, who volunteered to give the journalist some money for petroleum expenses.
CamboJA reviewed the comments in the Facebook post by the police department, where Facebook users asked the authorities to also call the person who gave money to the journalist for questioning as well.
A wife of one of the journalists denied that her husband extorted money, and that it was given voluntarily for gasoline expenses.
Another journalist, who asked not to be named, told CamboJA that prior to the arrest, SSB TV News published reports about an alleged illegal cockfighting operation in Grand Dragon Resort in Chrey Thum village in Sampoeu Poun town on December 13 and 14, which were later deleted.
According to the police, one journalist “confessed” that his reports were “baseless information and negatively impacted the image of the leadership and authorities”.