$80,000 ransom for the release of the daughter of the PM general

By DAP News

Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Posted at: http://ki-media.blogspot.com

Siem Reap – At 7:30PM on Saturday evening, a report from Siem Reap was provided to Deum Ampil news, indicating that Morn Chhaya, daughter of General Morn Samon, the military police (PM) chief for the province of Siem Reap, was released by the armed kidnappers. She returned home in the evening of 07 March 2009.

The source for the report indicated that the release was conducted after the kidnappers originally demanded for US$200,000 in ransom. However, negotiations were conducted between the family of the victim and the kidnappers. The negotiations were successful, but the exact amount of the ransom is not known for sure yet. Some sources indicated that the family begged the kidnappers (to lower the ransom amount) because they cannot afford to pay the original ransom amount asked.

At the last minute, the agreed ransom amount of $80,000 was not known (by the public), nevertheless, in the evening of 07 March, Morn Chhaya was seen arriving back at her home.

A source indicated that it is not known whether the released young woman was tortured or she was safe and sound at her return, but the family of the victim remained silent and they did not provide any information about their daughter’s kidnapping.

Prior to the released of the victim, a joint police force was actively conducting a search to help save the life of the treasured daughter of the PM general. But the police was not able to find the hiding location of the kidnappers, nor the location where they hid the general’s daughter.

An unofficial source indicated that, after armed men kidnapped Morn Chhaya, and until the morning of 07 March, the kidnappers called the family of the victim, and they demanded $200,000 in ransom. The police authority is attempting to hide the fact that negotiations were conducted between the kidnappers and the authority. Furthermore, the kidnappers also ordered the police to release one of their men who was arrested by the police on 06 March, the date where the kidnapping took place, in Puok district. Pressure from the kidnappers to release the arrested suspect, led the police to agree on the demand because it was concerned for the safety of the victim.

At around 1 PM of 06 March, two men wearing police uniform drove a Wave motorcycle and stopped in front of the house of General Morn Samon to buy cane juice to drink (along the side of the road). Nobody paid attention to these two police officers, but when the general’s daughter who drove her 2002 black Camry arrived home, she was about to get off her car to open the gate, then the two men who were drinking juice along the side of the road bolted in the direction of the car door, tied and gagged her mouth and forced her to sit in the back of car with one of the kidnapper, then they sped off leaving their Wace motorcycle on the spot of the incident. When they saw the incident taking place, neighbors ran into the victim’s house and told her mother, the incident was subsequently reported to the police which conducted an immediate search along the many roads in the province.

Half an hour later, information from Puok district indicated that one of the suspects was arrested along with the car belonging to the victim, but the victim was nowhere to be found.Initially, the arrested suspect confessed that his group consists of 10 people, but only two of them took an active role in the kidnapping. The pair disguised themselves as police lieutenants. The other kidnappers were waiting for their accomplices at the Kolap Kraham (Red Rose) guesthouse. The suspect added that he drove the victim’s car alone to Puok district, and his action was taken to deceive the cops only. In reality, the kidnappers took the victim to Phnom Penh on National Road 6 in another dark grey Camry car instead. After receiving the confession from the suspect, the cops surrounded the Kolap Kraham guesthouse, but after their search, they did not find any other suspects. As for road surveillance along National Road 6 to Phnom Penh, nothing came out of it.

In the evening of 07 March, relatives of the victim came to visit Morn Chhaya who returned home after $80,000 in ransom was paid for her release.