Families Still Searching for Answers

The trial of Kaing Guek Eav (alias Duch) resumed this morning with the testimonies of Im Sunthy and her daughter, Phung Guth Sunthary. Im Sunthy took the stand first, accompanied by her medical assistant. Appearing in the courtroom to speak about her husband’s death was extremely difficult. In fact, she had collapsed earlier this week when she saw the photo of an unnamed prisoner at Tuol Sleng prison (S-21) lying in a pool of his own blood. The picture conjured up memories of her husband, Phung Ton, and the painful thought that he may have also been one of those victims similarly struggling for his life. Accordingly, her lawyer informed the court that she would only be making a brief statement regarding her pain and suffering, and her daughter would represent the family by delivering a comprehensive account surrounding the fate of Phung Ton and the suffering that the family consequently endured.

Im Sunthy’s husband, Phung Ton, was a highly respected professor and former university dean. In fact, his former students include Duch’s co-counsel as well as the accused himself. On March 16, 1975, Phung Ton left his family to attend several conferences in Europe. His family never saw him again. One month after his departure, the Khmer Rouge took full control of Phnom Penh and forcibly relocated all families, Im Sunthy’s included, to the countryside where they were put to work in the fields. During this evacuation, she was forced to destroy all of the photographs of her husband that she had brought with her. Im Sunthy described this period as one of extreme hardship; a period during which they were mistreated and suffered from a lack of food. When the Khmer Rouge regime fell in 1979, she returned to Phnom Penh with her family in hopes of being reunited with her husband with whom she had lost contact. She learned later that shortly after his return to Cambodia he had been sent to S-21, the prison where, she said, no one survived…

Read more: ctm_blog_8-19-2009