ECCC, Case 001, Issue 15

The Chamber continued to hear the accounts of former S-21 personnel, namely, Mr Kok Sros, Mr Suos Thy and Mr Meas Peng Kry. Notably, in line with its earlier decision to reduce its witness list, Mr Meas Peng Kry’s testimony during the investigative stage was tendered as evidence in lieu of his in-court testimony. Significantly, their accounts illuminated the unremittingly harsh discipline imposed at the Security Center. Although Duch unequivocally acknowledged that Mr Suos Thy had been enlisted at S-21, he expressed doubts about the veracity of Mr Kok Sros’s allegation that he had served as a guard at the security office.

Last week, monitors expressed concerns about the adequacy of measures instituted to prevent witnesses from tailoring their evidence to corroborate the testimony of others. Similar concerns resurfaced during this week’s proceedings, when Mr Suos Thy displayed his awareness of the content of Mr Kok Sros’s testimony. Given that Mr Kok Sros had concluded his testimony a mere hour and a half before Mr Suos Thy had been summoned by the Chamber, it is reasonable to infer that a recurrent breach of Internal Rule 88(2) occurred during proceedings this week.