84 Prisoners Get Royal Pardons/Reduced Sentences

PHNOM PENH– Eighty-four prisoners in Cambodia are eligible to receive royal pardons or reduced sentences for the Visak Bochea, or Buddha Day, which this year falls on Wednesday (May 6), a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Justice Ministry spokesman Kim Santhepheap said prisons across the country had proposed 273 prisoners for royal pardons or jail-term reduction on the occasion, but after a recent meeting, Justice Minister Koeut Rith decided to request King Norodom Sihamoni through the government to grant royal pardons or reduce jail terms for 84 inmates only, including eight women.

“Ten prisoners, including two women, will receive royal pardons, and 74 others will see their jail terms reduced between six months and one year,” he told reporters.

According to the kingdom’s law, a prisoner is qualified for a royal amnesty provided he or she has served at least two-thirds of the jail term and behaved well while serving time in prison.

For a jail-term cut, a well-behaved inmate, who has served one-thirds of the prison term, will see his or her jail term reduced between six months and one year.

The Southeast Asian nation usually pardons or cuts jail terms for prisoners on the occasions of Khmer New Year in April, the Visak Bochea Day in May, and the Water Festival in November. XINHUA