Prey Sar prison
Encyclopedia
The Prey Sar Prison, previously known as S24, is the largest of 24 Cambodian prisons and holds about 500 prisoners. Prey Sar is administrated by the Cambodian Ministry of Interior with liaisons from the Ministry of Health. Mong Kim Heng has served as prison Director since 2000.
CC1 has a capacity of 1700 inmates but they are now (Sept 2011) more than 2920 in 3 "Bloks" A,B and C.
A fourth Block is under construction by the inmates themselves(June 2010).
In Block A are inmates awaiting their trial, it takes usually 6 to 8 months before going to court, Block B is for convicted prisoners and Block C for convicted prisoners serving long sentences. They are also about 60 prisoners at the infirmary and about 60 more living and working in the kitchen.
All inmates have to pay for everything: get a visit, drinking water, shower water, decent food, soap etc.
The jail provides absolutely nothing but food twice a day made of the cheapest rice and a salty soup of green vegetables grown on the spot added with some catfish or pork grease, meat is sold at the shops.
The police guards are paid 50 US dollars a month and do everything they can to make some more money
from the prisoners.
The atmosphere is surprisingly quiet, there is no violence inside the jail.
The living conditions are beyond imagination with 22 inmates living together in a 17 square meter cell in block A. 55 inmates in larger cells in Blocks B and C.
It is impossible to see outside from the cells not even the sky, ventilation is scarce.
The prisoners are allowed 45 minutes a day outside the cells except on week-ends, days off or while some NGO, UNO or an embassy visit. They do not go out when it is going to rain, when it is raining or when it rained. They are supposed to perform some physical exercises when out.
Correctional Centre 1
Very little is known about Complex One, which houses the prison's male offenders, since visitors are rarely allowed.CC1 has a capacity of 1700 inmates but they are now (Sept 2011) more than 2920 in 3 "Bloks" A,B and C.
A fourth Block is under construction by the inmates themselves(June 2010).
In Block A are inmates awaiting their trial, it takes usually 6 to 8 months before going to court, Block B is for convicted prisoners and Block C for convicted prisoners serving long sentences. They are also about 60 prisoners at the infirmary and about 60 more living and working in the kitchen.
All inmates have to pay for everything: get a visit, drinking water, shower water, decent food, soap etc.
The jail provides absolutely nothing but food twice a day made of the cheapest rice and a salty soup of green vegetables grown on the spot added with some catfish or pork grease, meat is sold at the shops.
The police guards are paid 50 US dollars a month and do everything they can to make some more money
from the prisoners.
The atmosphere is surprisingly quiet, there is no violence inside the jail.
The living conditions are beyond imagination with 22 inmates living together in a 17 square meter cell in block A. 55 inmates in larger cells in Blocks B and C.
It is impossible to see outside from the cells not even the sky, ventilation is scarce.
The prisoners are allowed 45 minutes a day outside the cells except on week-ends, days off or while some NGO, UNO or an embassy visit. They do not go out when it is going to rain, when it is raining or when it rained. They are supposed to perform some physical exercises when out.
Correctional Centre 2
Chab Si Neang directs Complex Two, which is for women and minors and contains living, teaching and medical facilities. Women offenders care for their children, who are incarcerated with their mothers at the prison.Extrajudicial inmates
- Gordon VuongGordon VuongGordon Vuong is a Chinese-Australian currently serving a 13-year sentence in Cambodia for attempting to smuggle 2.1kg of heroin concealed on his body from Phnom Penh to Australia...
: an Australian facing drug smuggling charges - Graham Robert Cleghorn: a New Zealander on five rape accounts
- Johanne Vinther Axelsen: a Danish 55-year-old woman convicted of trafficking painkillers a on date where she hadn't entered the country. She was sentenced to fifteen years in prison but was extradited to Denmark after two years.
Human rights abuse allegations
Several abuse and murder allegations have arisen concerning the prison staff's treatment of its inmates:- Heng Touch, allegedly tortured and murdered because his family did not bribe the guards, November 21, 2008