Kandal inmates transferred to vocational training prison
A GROUP of 100 inmates were transferred from Kandal provincial prison to Trapeang Phlong prison in Tbong Khmum province to receive vocational training through a rehabilitation programme after they have served their sentences.
Kandal provincial prison director Chat Sineang told The Post that the transfer of all 100 inmates, most of them male and convicted of theft with aggravating circumstances and drug use related offences, took place on February 20.
During the transfer process, security was provided by the Kandal provincial police and prison guards from the Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Prisons.
Sineang said: “Because our prison is small and overcrowded and lacks rehabilitation training programmes, we need to transfer some inmates to partner prisons so that they have access to training opportunities in various skills after serving their sentences”.
According to Sineang, Kandal provincial prison currently has more than 700 inmates, around 100 of whom are women. The prison covers an area of a little more than one hectare, which is too small to expand the facilities to accommodate a rehabilitation programme for inmates.
This is not the first time that inmates were transferred from there to Trapeang Phlong prison.
On February 8, a total of 100 inmates were transferred from Kandal provincial prison to the Cardamom Mountains Correctional Centre, or M4 prison, in Pursat province, which is modelled after the Siem Reap provincial prison that is widely considered to have the best vocational rehabilitation programme.
Tbong Khmum provincial prison director Phin Yan told The Post that currently the inmates are being held in the prison but they are being prepared for various training programmes based on their personal decisions.
Interior ministry’s General Department of Prisons spokesman Nuth Savana told The Post on February 21 that Trapeang Phlong prison has a rehabilitation programme for inmates convicted of lesser crimes.
“Our prison has many rehabilitation training programmes including growing vegetables and raising animals, furniture-making and welding for inmates convicted of misdemeanours.
“We need a strategic plan to establish these programmes in all prisons, depending on the size of the facility,” he said.
THE Ministry of Tourism’s National Committee for Clean City Evaluation has requested capital and provincial governors to prepare to raise public awareness to celebrate the ninth Clean City Day with the theme “New Habits for a Clean City” on February 27.
The ministry also encouraged all provincial governors to continue the “Clear out plastic bags to clean Cambodia” campaign.
In a notice dated February 1, the ministry said that in order to successfully celebrate the ninth Clean City Day with full participation from everyone, the National Committee for Clean City Evaluation requested governors to organise two programmes.
The first programme is to raise awareness of environmental sanitation and the importance of having a clean city, and the other is the clean-up programme itself.
The ministry instructed officials in charge of the programmes to use all means at their disposal to spread information about the ninth Clean City day this year and encourage public participation.
Nguon Ratanak, the provincial governor of Battambang which has won the prize of three stalks of Romduol Flower two years in a row now, told The Post that he had assigned the director of the Department
of Tourism to raise awareness of the National Clean City programme this year.
He said that he regarded environmental sanitation and the clean city programme as very useful to society and appealed to all Cambodians to take care of the environment.
“The tourism ministry initiated this programme and it is very useful to our country, but participation remains limited. So, we ask that all people participate in learning about and helping to make our city clean. The benefits of a Clean City are huge and they have a big influence on the economy in areas such as attracting tourists,” he said.
He also added that Battambang
residents’ awareness of placing rubbish in bins and taking care of the environment is much better than in previous years.
“Through these efforts, residents have learnt more about disposing of rubbish in an orderly manner. Previously, they had just dumped much of it wherever, ” Ratanak said.
Creal Cambodia founder Hour Chhai Ngorn lauded organisation of the Clean City Day programme but requested the ministry to consider cooperating with environmentalist youth and include their input in its policies.
“The programme to clean up the environment sponsored by the state should include the voices of environmentalist youth because their participation is important.
“Policymakers at the national level will determine the guiding principles, but local groups such as youth environmental activist organisations are the ones who carry out the real work,” he said.
“Three years ago, we educated many people carrying out this clean-up work directly. This year, we organised a programme to clean the environment gradually over a full year. It is a big project. At least 10 million people will receive information about it,” he said.
Chhai Ngorn continued that the education programme had three categories. The first is direct education about cleaning up the environment, the second is indirect education on social media through short stories and the third is education in schools.
He said that if you educate children about the environment at school, they will often go home and educate their parents in turn.
The tourism ministry instructed all governors to put up banners along the streets celebrating National Clean City Day with environmental education messages in leaflets to be handed out to the public.
Authorities must also prepare baskets, bags, dustbins, gloves and other materials for volunteers to use to help clean up the city that day.