In preparations for the departure to the USA, Piseth asked one his cousins to buy some dried fish and fermented fish, known as Prohok as a gift for his parents in the USA.
Lightly packed, Piseth was ready to come home; leaving behind the mental anguish and frustration during the seven weeks that he spent with his wife, in Battambang. It was meant to be a short trip but it will be one of his most tortuous trips ever to his homeland.
A couple of friends accompanied Piseth to Phnom Penh International Airport. Piseth was a little bit uneasy about his departure because he could sensed that something was about to happen. Piseth actually requested his friends to stay behind in an event that something should happen at immigration. One of Piseth’s friends was a little bit confused by the request because he did not understand what was going on.
Piseth had all of his baggage checked in then proceeded to have his passport checked by an Immigration Officer. Piseth handed his passport over to an Immigration Police; thereafter, Piseth was told to go into an isolated room for interrogation. Piseth was shocked and numbed, but in the back of his mind he knew that his wife and mother-in-law could turn against him.
Piseth was told that he was under arrest with a warrant placed against him by Battambang Provincial Court for a sexual crime committed against a juvenile. Six Battambang provincial policemen came to Phnom Penh Airport to arrest Piseth back to Battambang.
It was already 9:00pm by the time the Immigration Police and Battambang provincial policemen completed their paper works. Piseth was handcuffed on both of his angles and wrists, blind folded and taken into a car by the six policemen and driven off to destination unknown to Piseth. Piseth could have been killed along the way and nobody would know what had happened to him.
Fortunately, the Duty Free manager at the airport recognized Piseth. The Duty Free manager happened to be one of the invitees at Piseth’s going away party at Washington restaurant.
By this time, all of his friends had returned home because they never got the phone call from Piseth when he got to Immigration check out area. Unfortunately, Piseth has never gone pass Immigration checkpoint. Soon after the Duty Free manager learned about Piseth’s arrest; he immediately called Piseth’s friends and alluded to them that Piseth had been sent to Battambang province for a crime related to rape of some young girl there.
Piseth’s friends were frantic and wanted to do everything they could possibly do to help Piseth. Lundi, one of Piseth’s closest friend and also was very connected with the Police, Ministry of Interior, and Immigration Department made a pleading call to the big boss, the National Police Chief to get him to help in the case.
Apparently, due to the nature of the warrant, Piseth was arrested by the requests of numerous NGOs that were working to protect Human Trafficking, Child Protection and Human Rights in Cambodia. Lundi was told that Piseth’s case was so serious that it would extremely difficult for the government to intervene because of the evidences resulted from the different autopsies performed on the victim by the doctors hired by the NGOs.
The blood stain, Piseth knew existed, but he never knew where it came from. The fresh injuries on the vagina of the victim made him an immediate criminal as suggested by his wife and mother-in-law who were first to come to these NGOs and Battambang Provincial Police.
After 5 long hours in the police truck, blind folded, Piseth and his entourage finally reached Battambang Police station. Immediately upon his arrival, Piseth was taken into a small cell with no window, no bathroom and have been cleaned for months. The odor from the rotten feces and urine made it unbearable for Piseth, but he did not have a choice but to stay there for the night.
In his entire life, Piseth had never experienced such hardship. Piseth lived through Khmer Rouge regime as young man, but never in his life experienced such pain and anguish.
A couple of policemen came to Piseth’s cell then took off his hand and leg cuffs. Soon after, they take his blindfold off. Immediately, Piseth was taken to the interrogation room.
Once in the interrogation room, Piseth was stripped of his personal belongings such as money, watch and necklace given to him by his mother. Piseth was repeatedly beaten by two policemen with handguns and forced to confess on the crime he never commit. After nearly 3 hours of repeated brutality; Piseth was forced to sign a confession paper that he committed the crime of raping his own sister-in-law.
Weak and exhausted Piseth had to be carried back to his cell. Piseth laid unconscious until the next morning when one of the guards threw a bucket of water on him.
Lundi, one of Piseth closest friends has gotten to Battambang Police Station just before dawn. Lundi demanded that the guard allow him to see Piseth. Given Lundi’s stature as one of the respected men in the military, he was allowed to see Piseth.
Lundi felt a sense of rage and was in tears to see Piseth, his best friend in such conditions. Lundi immediately requested that Piseth be moved from the rotten cell to a cleaner one and also be given a shower before dawn.
Lundi, a trained officer and well known in his military circle was given access to the interrogation files about Piseth. He was shocked to learn the chilling details of how Piseth had raped his own sister-in-law, Charya. The interrogators described the details on the files so vividly, seemed as though they were witnessing the rape unfolding in front of their eyes.
The statement reads: ‘I, Piseth had gotten home at 2:30am on the night of the incident, drunk and did not know what I was doing. I, Piseth went into the guest room where my sister-in-law was sleeping seduced her to come to my room and raped her. Charya refused, but I, Piseth repeatedly ripped her bra, her under pant and proceeded until I succeeded in a vaginal intercourse with Charya, the victim, age 15.’
Lundi nearly felt off his chair after he read the statements. How can these be true about a person he comes to know, trust and respect all of these years, Lundi asked himself?
After having read the disturbing details of the rape and the autopsy reports; Lundi was numbed and in disbelief.
Lundi walked outside of the Police Station to the nearby court yard to catch some fresh air. To Lundi, there are many questions that need to be answered. Case such as Piseth’s was not common and could potentially be a case of just simple greed, set up to destroy a person such as Piseth, too inexperience about Cambodia.
Battambang Province was out of Lundi’s jurisdiction. Lundi could not do very much, but to resort to making a few phone calls and try to understand the case a little bit better. Lundi was about to take on Piseth’s case from a personal angle that was to do his own investigations of many unanswered questions.
By nine o’clock in the morning, local and international press has gotten hold of the story. Journalists and cameramen sat outside of Battambang Police Station waiting for Piseth to be escorted out to the military truck and taken him to the Battambang Provincial Prison which was 30 minutes away from the town center.
At around 9:30am that same morning, Piseth was escorted with a towel draped on his head toward to a truck waiting for him outside of the Police Station. Piseth could only wished that his swollen face be shown so that the world can see the police brutality of a man not yet convicted.
Local media sensationalized Piseth story. Piseth was portrayed as a ruthless child rapist and worst of all was named a vengeful husband.
After 30 minutes drive to the outskirt of Battambang, Piseth soon realized that he was now in for another surprise of his life. Yet he knew that somehow, some ways, his best friend Lundi will find ways to get him out of there….
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