Cambodia seeks to arrest 3 for offensive king image
Print Edition
CAMBODIAN police yesterday said they planned to arrest three suspects, including one believed to be in Thailand, for being behind an offensive photoshopped image of the country’s king that placed him in a gay porn scene.
The image, which appeared on some Facebook accounts in both Cambodia and Thailand this week, is a rare public insult aimed at King Norodom Sihamoni, who is largely respected and deemed above the country’s political fray.
While insulting the king is technically illegal in Cambodia, it is rarely prosecuted and does not carry the stiff penalties seen in Thailand where monarchy critics have been given decades-long jail terms.
General Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Interior, confirmed an investigation had been launched. “We have got orders to arrest them. If we don’t take action against them, more people might follow their act.”
He declined to specify which law the three suspects might have broken but said: “The king represents the whole nation and they are insulting the king, which is like they are insulting the whole nation.”
Two suspects were believed to be in Cambodia with the third thought to be in Thailand. Sopheak said they could ask for help from Bangkok.
Sihamoni ascended the throne in 2004 following the abdication of his father King Norodom Sihanouk.
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