Mental illnes is in Boom In Cambodia

By: HIM Sokunthea

The amount of mental illness patients is rapidly increasing from 60 percents to 90 percents recently due to economical crisis, childhood experience, social instability and many other problems occurred in Cambodia society, the deputy director of mental illness at Soviet Hospital said.



Dr. Yim Sobotra, the mental illness expert, said that he is concerned about the increase, since the old and new patients are rising day by day.

“I receive 70 to 80 people daily in Soviet Hopital”, he continues

There are many patients go to see the doctors and take the medicine daily approximately a hundred people per day. Those people go there to cure illness differently regarding their daily situation.

Sothea’s parents, whose son got a mental problem, said that his son have had mental problem for two years since he carelessly used pesticide in rice file.

“I can’t sleep at night because I need to keep an eye on him; otherwise, he goes out side shouting and cursing others”.

“First, he felt headache and later he cried, shouted and cursed other people unconsciously”, he said

“The pesticide or insecticides can bring mental problem severely and instantly if the farmer excessive use pesticide in careless way”, Dr. Yim Sobotra said.

In Soviet hospital, the patients have mental illness because of economic crisis, domestic violent, social instability, drug abuse, broken heart and the pressure from others people.

According to Dr. Yim Sobotra claimed that the primary reason that leads to the increase is because of the economical crisis. When individual thinks, worry and concern a lot, it makes them have insomnia and later lead to depression or stress.

He added that the best solution for those patients is that they need to see the doctors in order that the doctors can give good consultation and medicine for them.

Khmer Traditional Medicine

By: HIM Sokunthea

With long, small black appearance, lengthy purple branch color, it looks like wild bamboo which make most people bewilder that it is useless; instead it is used as a necessary plant for decreasing temperature in human being and it is really helpful for many other diseases.

Khmer traditional medicine is used almost in all areas in Cambodia, especially in rural area where the traditional custom is strongly applying. It has been well-known for all type of people, young, old, poor, single and married people since Angkorean period.

The remedy has been extracted from vine, plants, tree, which has totally 90 difference kind of plants and it has been taking from all provinces, such as kompong Speur, Kompong Chhnang, Pur Sat, Kompong Thom, Kompong Cham and Battambang Province.

Besides, animal is an effective remedy in curing illness; however it is banned and is not allowed because it leads to animal extinction.

Within strong belief of plant, healer, LY Bounarith, said that, the old medicine or remedy is come from all kind of natural or wild plants such as Sleak Snay, Plou Baat, Plou Thom, Krovine, Pepper, Union and so on.

He adds that the customer decide to use traditional medicine, for it is cheap, good quality and has no two side affect to health and it has been using since prehistory.

Having similar idea and with more than ten years experience, Mr PAV Sabouth, the healer, said that Cambodian citizen buy remedy, for they can afford the price and they can find it in any places around the village or home. He continues that the victims come to my house when the doctor has no ability to cure them.

“I used to go to hospital many times but it is useless; in contrast, my illness is getting better when I use remedy, such as plant and animal products”, Uncle Sreng Heng at Toul Sangka said.

Having been cured by traditional medicine, Ms, Sann Hang, said that “it is not expensive and it has good quality”.


It is still a big debate about using modern medicine and traditional medicine to cure illness. Although some people believe in using old remedy, the opponent party claims that modern medicine spends short time and it takes less risk to use it because it is world-wide used.

With opposite opinion toward her career, Ms, NANG Nary, remedy seller, said that, either modern or traditional medicine are similarly harmful to our health and it a good idea to see the doctor when the victim are in serious condition.

Normally, in all selling plant, herbal or animal remedy places can be sold and distributed on the store unless it is formally recognize by the government. In deed, all sellers have to pass the exam and get licensee from the health ministry.

On the other hand, the government won’t allow the sellers or the healers to advertise their product beyond their real ability, such as curing HIV diseased and cancer illness since it is the way of cheating people.

" To toture the prisoner is my duty", Duch

By: HIM Sokunthea

PHNOM PENH – The former Khmer Rough prison chief told Cambodia’s war crimes court on Monday that being a prison chief was not his willingness, yet it was the only way to survive him and his family.

On the hearing today, Duch talks about his main responsibility in S-21 during 1975-1979.

He shows the whole court about the report which he wrote to brother, Sen San, about the suspect’s wrong doing.

“This guy is talkative, dishonest and he may provoke the trouble to our party”, the report say.

“If a man is suspected of wrong doing, his wife and the entire family member would be charged the same”

He told the court that it was not his intention to torture the prisoner but he had to fulfill his task honestly.

S- 21 was unique in the network of security centres given its direct link to the Central Committee and its role in the detention and execution of CPK cadre.

“S-21 was the place to detain, interrogate and torture the suspect”, Duch told the court

Duch confessed that sometimes he had to torture the prisoner by his own, yet the prisoners were not allowed to kill unless he got the order from the top, Pol Pot.

Usually the suspects were from city dweller whose background was not good, the scholar, the educated people, Vietnamese people and anyone who could provoke trouble to the whole ANGKAR.

Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, was arrested by Cambodian authorities in May 1999, shortly after photojournalist Nic Dunlop found him hiding in a western Cambodian town. He is charged of war crime against humanity.