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The Murder of Piseth Peaklica

A Resource File prepared by Cambodia Today

in cooperation with the NGO forum on Cambodia (ngoforum@ngoforum.org.kh)

Index (CD indicates an article in The Cambodia Daily, not available in electronic form). PPPost($) indicates the article is available only to paid subscribers of the Full Edition (online) of The Phnom Penh Post. If you are a subscriber and have an Internet connection, you can click on the link, provide your password and retrieve the article. For information on subscribing to the online Phnom Penh Post Full Edition, click here [requires Internet connection].

Members of the National Police Task Force investigating the murder of Piseth Peaklica:

• Tang Sovong (or Teng Savong), deputy general, National Police (headed the "investigation" into the grenade attack on demonstrators, 1997)
• Luy Savuth, judicial police chief, Interior Ministry
• Neth Savoeun, Phnom Penh municipal police chief
• Sok Phal, chief of the general information department, Interior Ministry
• Thong Lim, director of penal police
• Thor Sary, deputy director of the anti-terrorist department
• Vath Rotha, director of the technique and penal department

Primary source:  The Cambodia Daily, 12Jul99 and 19Jul99

Cambodian film star critical after execution-style attack, AFP, 07Jul99

PHNOM PENH, July 7 (AFP) - One of Cambodia's most celebrated film stars, actress Piseth Peaklica, was Wednesday described by doctors as "critical" after she was shot in a daylight gun attack on the streets of the capital.

The 34 year-old pin-up and her niece were gunned down execution-style Tuesday morning by two unidentified assailants while shopping in a central market, in what police and local press say was an attack carried out by hired hitmen.

The Khmer-language Samleng Yuvachon Khmer (Voice of Khmer Youth) newspaper linked the attack to "the jealousy of the wife of a senior government official," but gave no further details.

The Koh Santhepeap newspaper reflected general mistrust of the notoriously corrupt police force, asserting "the culprits are unlikely to be arrested because the attackers were hired by a strong source."

The Meatophum (Motherland) paper said it was "the act of the wife of a senior official who had an affair with her."

Phnom Penh's deputy police chief Ek Kret told AFP investigations were continuing and refused to speculate on the attack, but senior police sources admitted the style of the attack pointed to a professional contract hit.

Hitmen can be hired for as little as 400 US dollars in the crime-ridden city.

Meanwhile, doctors at Phnom Penh's French-funded Calmette hospital said Piseth Peaklica remained in intensive care and in a "stable but critical condition."

"There is bad damage to the spinal cord so we are worried she could be badly paralysed," explained a medical source.

Her seven year-old niece of Piseth Peaklica, Sarin Sereimean, was being kept under observation with a minor bullet wound to to the arm.

"One of the bullets has been removed and we are continuing to look for more," a medical source added.

Piseth Peaklica is best known for her role in the 1980s melodrama "Sramol Anthaka" (Shadow of Darkness), a film documenting life under Pol Pot's genocidal Khmer Rouge regime.

She was also trained in and continued to teach traditional Khmer dancing in the renowned School of Fine Arts, and was well known for bringing her intricate ballet skills to the silver screen.

The popular star recently emerged from a traumatic divorce from fellow film star Khay Prasith.

Gunned-down Cambodian star 'close to death', Straits Times (Singapore), 09Jul99

PHNOM PENH (AFP) -- Cambodia's most popular home-grown film star, actress Piseth Peaklica, was close to death yesterday two days after she was gunned down execution-style by suspected hired hit-men, doctors said.

Local press have attributed Tuesday's daylight attack to the jealous wife of a senior government official, in a crime that has stunned a capital normally accustomed to a high dose of daily violence.

"She is losing her fight to live, and her family members are saying their farewells,'' said Mr Puy Keun, director of Phnom Penh's renowned school of fine arts where the 34-year-old star taught traditional ballet.

Added a tearful Minister of Women's Affairs, Ms Mu Sochua, while visiting the hospital: "I am here to express my sorrow at the loss of a person who served her country so well. Justice has to be found.''

Doctors at the Calmette hospital said Piseth Peaklica had suffered three gunshots wounds to the back. "She is close to death and very weak," one doctor said.

Several newspapers have reported that the star was the victim of killers hired by "the jealous wife of a top government official" with whom the actress had been having an affair.

The pro-government Phnom Penh Evening News identified the official as "a general", quoting "reliable sources".

Senior police sources said they believed the attack pointed to a professional job. The seven year-old niece of Piseth Peaklica, Sarin Sereimean, was also injured in the gun attack, but her condition was not serious.

Lundy link to shot actress, PPPost, 09Jul99

Popular Cambodian actress Piseth Peaklica, who was the victim of an assassination attempt on Tuesday, July 6, is alleged to have had a close relationship with National Police Chief Hok Lundy, according to a western diplomat.

Peaklica survived the attempt on he life but doctors are reported as saying she has been paralyzed from the waist down.

It is believed her estranged husband had recently made an attempt at reconciliation and had tried to convince her to return with him to his home in Australia. 

Cambodia vows to track down actress' attackers, Straits Times (Singapore), 12Jul99

PHNOM PENH (AFP) -- The Cambodian authorities yesterday vowed to track down the attackers of celebrated actress Piseth Peaklica in a bid to deflect allegations of an official link to last week's execution-style shooting.

The forming of a special investigation committee follows reports alleging that the jealous wife of a senior government official ordered Tuesday's attack on the 34-year-old pin-up, who remains in a critical condition.

"The Ministry of Interior has formed a committee of seven senior officials to hunt down the attackers," national police chief Hok Lundy said.

He denied a report in Friday's edition of the English-language Phnom Penh Post that he had any links with the actress.

Few residents believe any arrests will be made given allegations of a top-level link to the attack, which also left the film star's seven-year-old niece, Sarin Sereimean, seriously injured.

Cambodia mourns 'executed' film star, BBC News Online, July 13, 1999

Cambodia's most famous actress has died a week after being gunned down in what police believe was a revenge attack.

Piseth Peaklica, 34, was shot three times while she was shopping in the capital, Phnom Penh.

The Cambodian capital was engulfed in grief on Tuesday after learning of her death.

Residents blared her music from their homes, filling the streets with her voice.

And thousands of distraught fans crowded into the grounds of Phnom Penh University's School of Fine Arts, where the actress is lying in state.

Piseth Peaklica - best known for her performance in King Norodom Sihanouk's film "Shadow of Darkness" - was a teacher of traditional ballet at the school.

"Her performances represent the entire nation and her death is like losing Angkor Wat," said one fan, referring to the country's most famous temple.

"The person who raised his hand to kill her also killed the nation's soul," she added between sobs.

Rumored love affair

Several local newspapers have speculated that the killing was ordered by the jealous wife of a government official who allegedly had an affair with the actress.

Piseth Peaklica was shopping at a marketplace last Tuesday when one or more assailants shot her at close range. Her niece was injured in the attack.

Doctors removed two bullets from the actress' body, but a third severed her spine and stayed lodged in her back. 

Fans and family members kept a constant vigil at the hospital all week.

Announcing her death, hospital head Heng Taykry said: "The family played music to call her soul back to the body but unfortunately it did not return."

Special investigation

A special police task force has been set up to investigate the assassination, but has so far failed to produce any description of a suspect.

General Teng Savong, who heads the team, said: "We're doing our best to find the killer to meet the demands of the people. We're investigating every possibility - love, jealousy, robbery - everything.''

Piseth Peaklica, who starred in scores of films, advertisements and karaoke videos, was due to visit France later this year on a ballet tour.

News of her shooting has gripped the nation. Media coverage has even outstripped that of the death of Pol Pot, the man blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million Cambodians during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-79 reign of terror.

Cambodian actress dies a week after shooting, Reuters, 13Jul99

PHNOM PENH, July 13 (Reuters) - A prominent Cambodian movie star and classical dancer died on Tuesday, a week after she and a seven-year-old niece were shot down in an assassination-style attack at a city market.

''We tried our best but could not save her,'' hospital director Heng Taikry told Reuters. ''She died this morning.''

Piseth Peaklica, 34, was shot three times by a man with a handgun while she was shopping. A niece was wounded in the attack, which police labelled a ''revenge'' shooting because they were not robbed.

The shooting of such a prominent figure, who also acted in films made by King Norodom Sihanouk, has shocked Cambodia.

More than 10,000 people including fellow artists, government officials and fans, turned up at the School of Fine Arts, where she used to teach traditional ballet and where her body was taken to prepare for her funeral, police said.

The shooting has dominated local newspapers all week, and the chief of a special investigation team set up by the government said all possible motives were being considered.

''We're doing our best to find the killer to meet the demands of the people,'' Teng Savong told Reuters.

''We're investigating every possibility -- love, jealousy, robbery -- everything. We can't ignore this case. We must find the killer,'' he said.

Tearful fans, crowding the windows and doors at the School of Fine Arts to get a last glimpse of Piseth Peaklika's body, demanded justice.

''I want the government to find the killer, to find who gave the order to have her killed,'' an 11-year old girl, Srey Lem, told Reuters.

''We Cambodians are not happy with this at all. The government must find justice for her,'' said businesswoman Sok Kheng, 43.

Killing shows a nation in moral decline, Cochrane / SCMP, 14Jul99

By Joe Cochrane  

Phnom Penh -- The shooting of Cambodia's most popular actress not only stunned the people of this strife-torn country, it also punched holes in its thin veil of democracy and rule of law.

Piseth Peaklica, 34, died yesterday, eight days after she was shot outside a market in an attack police blamed on professional hitmen.

More than 10,000 people, many weeping, burned incense and left offerings as they filed past her body in the Royal Fine Arts University where she taught.

Police suspect revenge was behind the shooting.

Newspapers reported Piseth had an affair with a high-ranking government leader, prompting speculation the official or his jealous wife ordered a hit.

Her death shows that despite two foreign-assisted elections and the infusion of billions of dollars in development aid, Cambodia remains a generally lawless country where life has little value.

The blame for this is mostly assigned to the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, which was responsible for perhaps two million deaths between 1975 and 1979.

"People lack completely the sense of morality, the sense of law," Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights president Kek Galabru said.

"The consequences are tremendous from the period of the Khmer Rouge. In every country you have killers, but not like this.

"They kill to steal a motorcycle. Mothers sell their children to the brothels. Now there is no morality, only violence."

Personal disputes are often settled with violence.

Newspapers run almost daily accounts: a jealous woman pours battery acid on her husband's mistress, a man shoots his friend after losing a game of chess, a soldier kills his aunt for refusing to turn on the television.

"Our Cambodian morals have been in decline since 1970," said Ministry of Culture Secretary of State Sisowath Panara.

"But I believe that the more democracy improves, the more violence decreases. And I hope foreign donors will give more money to alleviate poverty in Cambodia."

Western and Asian aid donors have pledged HK$3.64 billion to Cambodia this year for infrastructure, health, education and mine clearing.

Diplomats say while substantial funds are allocated to conflict resolution, human rights training and judicial reform, it is difficult to determine how much of the money actually reaches those areas.

The Government, by comparison, last year spent more than 40 per cent of its budget on the armed forces and less than 10 per cent on health, welfare and education.

"There should be more money going into these areas," said Jean-Claude Rogivue, deputy representative of the UN development programme in Phnom Penh.

"And not only more money from foreign donors but from the Government."

Added Kek Galabru: "If the donors would like really to help Cambodia, they should make more of an evaluation of how the money is spent."

Cartoon (uncaptioned) from Rasmei Kampuchea, Section B, page 5, July 15, 1999

Killing of actress: Reward offer, Straits Times (Singapore), 15Jul99

PHNOM PENH (AFP) -- Cambodian police offered a 20-million-riel [US$5,263] reward yesterday as the government came under mounting pressure to find and arrest the killers of a top actress.

Despite the reward, huge by local standards, for any information about the killers of Piseth Peaklica, 34, many of the thousands who flocked to pay her their last respects were pessimistic.

"The government has to find the villains but I am very concerned about the safety of myself and my family," said Mr Mean Sovannara, a brother-in-law of the actress and dancer.

"So far, the government has given us no hope."

Student Tep Sopheap of the University of Fine Arts where the victim taught and where her body is on view for mourners, said: "The government has just not done enough."

Readers revel in tale of sex, power and murder, Johnson / SCMP, 17Jul99

By Kay Johnson

Phnom Penh -- The story has almost everything: a celebrity, murder, sex and power. So it is not surprising that the assassination of one of Cambodia's most popular actresses, Piseth Peaklica - and her rumoured links to a powerful, married government official - has sent newspaper sales soaring and provided an unprecedented boon for the fledgling free press.

However, some said the papers were going too far, and a Ministry of Information official said yesterday he was considering suspending some publications for what he called exploitative and politicised coverage.

For now, though, the sensational story has editors rubbing their hands with glee.

"My circulation has tripled, from 10,000 to 38,000," said Thong U Pang, editor of the Khmer-language Koh Santepheap (Island of Peace) said yesterday.

Best known for her role in Shadow of Darkness, about life during the Khmer Rouge's brutal 1970s rule, Piseth, 34, was gunned down from close range in broad daylight while leaving a market last week.

She lingered on life-support for more than a week before dying on Tuesday.

No arrests have been made and there is no official suspect.

But within days, the local Khmer-language newspapers began reporting that Piseth may have been having an affair with a high-ranking government official, causing newspapers to practically fly off the stands.

One local fortnightly reported that Piseth was involved with a well-known and powerful National Police official, whom the paper named.

Another paper speculated that the affair was with an even higher-ranking official.

Cambodia has one of the freest presses in Southeast Asia, with more than 200 publications.

But critics said that the enthusiastic young papers, most of which have links to political parties, could be irresponsible and unprofessional.

Khieu Kanharith, Secretary of State for Information, said he was disgusted by the sensational coverage.

"I think it is not only abuse - it is a kind of deviance," he said yesterday.

Khieu Kanharith was jailed in the 1980s while editor of an opposition newspaper.

Thousands of grieving Cambodians mourn murdered screen icon, AFP, 18Jul99

PHNOM PENH, July 18 (AFP) - At least 10,000 tearful mourners gathered in the Cambodian capital Sunday in an unprecedented show of public grief at the funeral and cremation of murdered actress Piseth Peaklica, witnesses said.

Crowds packed out the University of Fine Arts, where the 34 year-old screen icon also taught traditional dance, paying tribute to the famed home-grown star gunned down nearly two weeks ago by suspected hired hit-men.

"This is a massive loss for Cambodia's culture," said Minister of Culture, and daughter of King Norodom Sihanouk, Princess Bopha Devi, who lit the funeral pyre of the popular pin-up.

"I hope the government can find and arrest the attackers."

"She was a great actress, dancer and mother. She is a symbol for us all, but we can never see her again," lamented Tep Rin Daro, a colleague of the actress at the renowned fine arts school, as the sound of sobbing onlookers drowned out the crackle of the flames.

The death of the actress last Tuesday, one week after she was shot in the back in central Phnom Penh in broad daylight, has stunned and angered a capital accustomed to high doses of violent crime.

Cambodia's press has done a roaring trade with the soap opera-style crime story, alleging the jealous wife of a senior government official with whom the actress was having an affair hired the hit squad.

Authorities have responded to the mounting pressure by posting a huge 20 million riel (5,300 dollar) reward -- an enormous sum in a country where the average annual salary is 360 dollars -- and set up a special investigative committee, but so far no arrests have been made.

Piseth Peaklica was best known for her role in the 1980s melodrama "Sramol Anthaka" (Shadow of Darkness), a film documenting life under Pol Pot's genocidal Khmer Rouge regime.

The popular star of scores of films, advertisements and karaoke videos, she was scheduled to travel to France on a tour of the royal ballet later this year.

Local television and radio on Saturday dedicated hours of broadcasting to the star, while the reward offer was also announced on television.

Her funeral brought fans from all over Cambodia, including 48 year-old Cham Reoun, who quit her job as a maid and travelled 120 kilometers (75 miles) to attend Sunday's ceremony.

"Peaklica was a good woman and I loved her so much," the sobbing woman told AFP on the fourth day of her mourning close to the icon's body, which was surrounded by saffron robe-clad Buddhist monks chanting prayers throughout the week.

Hundreds of shops were closed in the capital, while thousands of young female garment workers -- for whom the film star was a role-model -- also kept away from work for the full day of religious ceremony.

The unprecedented attendance also forced students to postpone a protest over alleged land-grabbing by Cambodia's neighbours -- Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Only 20 turned up for the planned march, and were vastly outnumbered by police and government plain-clothes surveillance officers.

While reports have yet to name "the general's wife" behind the front page sex and jealously crime, most believe police will steer clear of any scandal because of the alleged top-level links to the murder.

Professional killers can be hired for as little as 400 US dollars per hit in Phnom Penh.

"This is another sad example of impunity in Cambodia," said one mourning official who asked not to be named. "Somebody who is well-connected can get away with things like this, and police will find a scapegoat."

The popular star recently emerged from a traumatic divorce from fellow film star Khay Prasith, who also made a tearful appearance at the ceremony.

A seven year-old niece of Piseth Peaklica, Sarin Sereimean, was wounded in the attack, and was discharged from hospital last week.

Thousands attend cremation of Cambodian actress, Kyodo, 18Jul99

PHNOM PENH, July 18 (Kyodo) - Thousands of people attended the cremation Sunday of Cambodian movie actress Piseth Peaklica at the Royal University of Fines Arts.

Piseth Peaklica, 34, was shot three times by two assailants July 6 while shopping at a market in the capital. She died one week later. Her 7-year-old niece was hit in the right shoulder.

Many fans traveled from various provinces to be at the ceremony.

''I know that I was unable to do my daily work at home, but I love her so I had to come to pay my condolences,'' said Sao Sareth, a 47-year-old farmer who traveled from the eastern province of Svay Rieng, about 150 kilometers from the capital.

''She was a very good actress and her character was excellent,'' she added.

The government has set up a special committee to investigate the case, which may have been the result of a lovers' quarrel, and has offered a 20 million Riel (5,263 dollar) reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect.

''I don't expect that the assassins will be found and brought to justice,'' said 58-year-old Reth Sann, who attended the ceremony. ''It is normal in Cambodia that the criminal will never be found.''

Piseth Peaklica starred in a series of films produced by King Norodom Sihanouk and was a dance professor at the Royal University of Fine Arts.

Cambodians bid emotional farewell to slain actress, Reuters, 18Jul99

PHNOM PENH, July 18 (Reuters) - Members of the royal family, top officials and thousands of ordinary fans turned out on Sunday to bid a tearful farewell to Cambodia's most famous actress, gunned down in an execution-style attack earlier this month.

Piseth Peaklica, 34, was cremated in the grounds of Phnom Penh's School of Fine Arts where she studied as a young girl and later taught classical Cambodian ballet.

Some 10,000 people, many of them clutching flowers and sobbing, turned out for her funeral, presided over by Minister of Culture Princess Norodom Bopha Devi, a daughter of King Norodom Sihanouk.

''It's so sad...Pesith Peaklica was a great classical dancer,'' Bopha Devi told reporters.

''It's a tremendous loss for our Khmer culture,'' she said.

Piseth Pileka, who acted in films made by Sihanouk, was shot down and seriously wounded while out shopping on July 6. She clung to life for a week but died on Tuesday.

No arrests have been made. Police say they are investigating all possible motives, including widespread rumours that the shooting was triggered by jealousy over a love affair.

Investigators have been showing witnesses pictures of known hit-men, a member of a special team set up to investigate the killing said at the weekend. He declined to elaborate.

The killing of such a prominent figure has shocked Cambodia and pressure is mounting on the government to get justice for the actress.

''The government has to find the criminals otherwise they are not capable of leading the country,'' said Son Soubert, the former leader of an opposition party who now sits on the country's top constitutional body.

''Now the security of any citizen is at stake...simple citizens are not living in security,'' Son Soubert told Reuters at the funeral.

Crowd Jams Cambodia Actress Funeral, Munthit / AP, 18Jul99

By Ker Munthit

Associated Press Writer

PHNOM PENH (AP) - More than 10,000 grieving fans, some spending their life savings to travel from the countryside, packed the funeral Sunday of a Cambodian film star who was gunned down in public two weeks ago.

Normally light Sunday morning traffic snarled as mourners poured into the courtyard of Phnom Penh University's School of Fine Arts, where murdered actress Piseth Peaklica taught traditional ballet.

The anguished crowd pushed and shoved each other, climbing fences and trees to glimpse the elaborate funeral and the dozens of Cambodian movie stars who attended the cremation ceremony.

Srei Chea, 29, said she abandoned her farm during planting season and spent most of her savings to travel the 70 miles from the southeastern province of Svay Rieng.

''I had to come,'' she said. ''The death shocked me. I used to watch her movies and karaoke videos. She was so lovely and kind.''

Piseth Peaklica - best known for her performance in movie-loving King Norodom Sihanouk's film ''Shadow of Darkness,'' about life under the Khmer Rouge - was shopping at a market July 6 when two gunmen shot her three times. She died a week later.

Newspapers have reported rumors that the murder was arranged by the jealous wife of a high-level government official who allegedly had an affair with the actress. The rumors have fed fears that Cambodia's notoriously corrupt police will never catch the killers.

A police task force has been created and a $5,300 reward offered for information leading to the arrest of the killers.

Her death touched off widespread grief, in contrast to the indifference that greeted the death last year of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, who led a brutal regime in the late 1970s that caused 1.7 million deaths.

Media coverage outstripped any event since last year's election. The funeral throngs shocked Chheng Phon, election commission president and a former culture minister, who said he had never seen such a large spontaneous crowd.  

PASSAGE, Asiaweek, 23Jul99 (cover date)

DIED

Piseth Peaklica, 34, Cambodian film actress, in Phnom Penh on July 13, a week after being gunned down execution-style. She was allegedly romantically linked to the chief of police, Hok Lundy, and some speculate his wife may have been involved in the July 6 shooting. Peaklica was best known for her role in Sramol Anthaka (Shadow of Darkness), a film documenting life under the Khmer Rouge regime.

Piseth Peaklica: the life and death of a 'people's princess', PPPost, 23Jul99

Cambodians bid a sad farewell to a woman who was seen as the embodiment of Khmer culture, as Chea Sotheacheath reports

The haunting sound of a Khmer traditional flute lament wafts through the air among more than 10,000 mourners. The monotonous boom of a drum marks the steady pace of the funeral procession making its way through weeping masses to the catafalque standing in the school playground of the impoverished Fine Arts University.

The guests of honor begin arriving. Chief among them is Her Royal Highness Princess Bopha Devi, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts. With her are senior monks and other top government officials.

But it is the immensity of the crowd, and its diversity, that is astonishing: young and old, rich and poor, the famous and the unknown. Some have skipped work for the day; others have journeyed from distant provinces. There are reports of people quitting their jobs rather than miss the opportunity to be here.

All have come to bid their last farewell to a woman who in the wake of her violent death has come to be seen as embodying the very heart and soul of Khmer culture: Piseth Pelika. A name already famous, but one that has been on everyone's lips during the seven days that she struggled for life after the assassin's attack upon her in a Phnom Penh market on July 6, and during the days of mourning since.

The numbers of the crowd are uncountable. The funeral lasts for hours. Thousands flow continuously into the university grounds as other thousands are leaving. Police link arms to form a human barricade to stop the surging crowd from overwhelming the catafalque and dignitaries. A giant tree just metres from the bier is festooned with a score of small boys nesting in its branches for a birdseye view.

"This is very big ceremony isn't it?," a man who has just dived under the police cordon in front of the official stage remarks to the stranger next to him.

"Perhaps Samdech Preah Ream's funeral would not be crowded like this one, if she were . . . Do you know the princess is a former Apsara actress?," his companion responds, pointing with pursed lips to Princess Bopha Devi seated in the chair of honor on the stage, as his eyes move around watching the crowds.

The ceremony progresses. Cambodian film actor Tep Rin Daro, on behalf of Cambodian Artists reads a eulogy expressing their deep sorrow at the loss of their friend Peaklica.

"Let us speak to the soul of the Lady Pelika before the fire burns her beautiful body away from us," Daro reads in front of a large smiling photograph of Peaklica displayed on the side of her coffin, high upon the catafalque.

"She is disappeared from the world, indeed. But the good model of her heroism remains. We shall all remember her forever."

"Let us say goodbye to our Lady. Goodbye for ever . . . never to see her again." Daro weeps, and the crowd weeps with him. On the official stage Um Sivorn, like Pelika herself, a famous woman singer, sobs unrestrainedly.

One of the traditional musicians of Pleng Pin Peat, Nol Sobon, his face sweating in the hot day, reflects on Peaklica's life and sudden death: "I used to play other songs on my flute for her to dance at national and international ceremonies. But today I play a funeral song for her death. I never expected that," he says quietly.

Piseth Pelika was gunned down in an execution-style attack in broad daylight near Phnom Penh's O Russei market with her niece on July 6, and died seven days later in Calmette Hospital. She was 34. Her seven-year-old niece, Saren Sereiman, is recovering, but Peaklica was mortally wounded by bullets in the spine.

As the days passed after the shooting, Khmer radio was full of her singing, and Khmer television played re-runs of the many movies she had starred in.

At first there was hope as she clung to consciousness.

"I did not do any bad thing at all. Why have they mistreated me like this?" Pelika asked her family in a faint voice as they stood around her bed after a first, ultimately futile, operation in the hospital.

Now the ceremony progresses. Princess Bopha Devi recalls the achievements of Peaklica: a great actress and exponent of Khmer traditional dance, which she had danced correctly according to the traditional style.

"Pelika was the greatest actress representive of Cambodian culture," the Princess says. "The loss of her is a huge loss to national culture.

"I myself, together with the Ministry [of Culture and Fine Arts] share her family's hope that the soul of Piseth Peaklica will be born peacefully in the next world, if the murderer is arrested [and] justice is found for her."

Pelika's former husband, Khay Praseth, who had flown from his home in Australia, seems overwhelmed with grief. Friends surround him and support him to save him from falling. He puts flowers on Peaklica's coffin and turns toward the Princess.

It is time, he says. Time for the Princess to light the torch that will begin the cremation.

The smoke from the pyre's chimney hovers and swirls through the crowds and through the school where Pelika taught.

Praseth stands with his arms protectively around seven-year-old Khay Sithlysak, his and Peaklica's son. Together, they gaze up, watching the smoke rising from the pyre, sadly and silently.

Then the rain begins. And the people murmur that the rain is accompanying Pelika to another, more peaceful world.

Proeung Chhieng, dean of the University of Fine Arts and Culture, describes Peaklica as having been a modest student, polite and quiet. She never had any quarrel with other students.

"Once, I saw her sitting in a corner of the school and crying. I asked her, 'Why are you crying?' Some boys had mistreated her," Chhieng recalls.

Chhieng says Pelika will be irreplaceable.

"Peaklica had three good qualities: She possessed attitude, beauty and knowledge. Other artists do not have all three of these."

Chhieng says the spontaneous presence of the multitude at the funeral, their pilgrimage from all across Cambodia, is testimony to the enduring popularity of traditional Khmer art. And this popularity endures because of the commitment of Pelika, who had rescued the Khmer culture from its extinction by the Khmer Rouge regime.

Peaklica had performed perfectly in many countries in the world since she became an actress in 1988.

In 1997, Cambodia was one of 12 Asian countries at the Ramayana Festival in Bangkok. And thanks to Pelika, Cambodia had been the best.

"Peaklica did a great job. The way she danced followed the original rule. Only Cambodia danced correctly. We are happy because we can maintain the original form of the Ramayana dancing, whereas other countries like Thailand cannot."

The result was that Cambodia was placed first ahead of the other competing countries, the dean said.

Piseth Pelika was born Ouk Eab Pily in 1965, in Sangkat No 5, Phnom Penh City, the daughter of Ouk Eab, a professor of French. Her mother was Meng Mony. She had two younger sisters, Sai Vina and Va Bo.

They were orphaned during the Khmer Rouge regime, and evacuated to live with their uncle and aunt in a remote village in Pursat province, where Va Bo also died.

Because she lived with her uncle, Sao Piseth, Peaklica's family name changed from Ouk Eab to Sao, and she became Sao Pily.

In 1979 she returned to Phnom Penh and went to school, then in 1980 began studying Khmer traditional dance at the School of Fine Arts. She graduated in 1988 and began working at the Department of Arts and Spectacles of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

Later, when she became an actress, she changed her name from Sao Pily to Piseth Peaklica, according to Proeung Chhieng, dean of the arts school.

She became famous when she began to play roles in Cambodian films. She had starred in 60 films, among them the 1980s film Sramol Anthaka (Shadow of Darkness) about life during the Pol Pot regime, and she also became a popular karaoke singer.

In 1990 she married Cambodian actor Khay Praseth, whom she subsequently divorced.

She joined the staff of the Fine Arts University in 1991 as a teacher of Khmer traditional dance, and in1992 gave birth to her only child, her son Khay Sithlysak.

Phnom Penh Post, Issue 8/15, July 23 - August 5, 1999 

[This article was taken from the "free edition" section of the Phnom Penh Post web site:  http://www.newspapers.com.kh/ ]

A Deadly Soap Opera, Asiaweek, 30Jul99 (cover date)

Questions remain after a film star's murder

By Dominic Faulder  

Even for Cambodia, it was one killing too many. A week after being gunned down in broad daylight in a Phnom Penh market, Piseth Peaklica, 34, the nation's best-known actress, finally succumbed to multiple bullet wounds that had left her with a severed spine. The July 6 shooting had all the hallmarks of a professional hit, if a slightly bungled one. The two gunmen made no attempt to rob Peaklica but managed to wound her seven-year-old niece, Sarin Sereimean. 

The murder sent an unprecedented wave of grief and disgust throughout the country. Peaklica's body was displayed at the School of Fine Arts, where she had taught ballet. "You are touching not just a film star here, but the whole culture of Cambodia," says a senior member of the royalist Funcinpec party. "That's why her body was placed at the school and not the pagoda." 

On the first day, police estimated that more than 10,000 mourners paid their respects. On the second day, VIPs included Sok An, chief of the Council of Ministers, and Minister of Culture Princess Bopha Devi, daughter of King Norodom Sihanouk. The princess, herself one of Cambodia's most admired classical dancers, returned to light the funeral pyre on July 18. Thousands turned out for the cremation, many of them ashen-faced young garment workers for whom the actress was an unattainable role model. "There wasn't room for two more people in there," says an American resident who attended the cremation. 

Peaklica's murder generated more newsprint than Pol Pot's death last year or the bloody power struggle in Phnom Penh the year before. Newspapers doubled their print runs, while sensational rumors traveled through the grapevine. Without naming names, the vernacular press speculated that the hit had been ordered by the jealous wife of a top police general with whom Peaklica was allegedly having an affair. It was whispered that her doctors were incompetent for failing to extract one of the bullets. And, despite a constant family bedside vigil, there was dark talk of Peaklica being drugged to prevent her from regaining consciousness and telling all. The police took the unprecedented step of posting a $5,000 reward for the killers, but by late July, they had yet to be captured. 

A cultural icon and one of the most recognized faces in the kingdom, Peaklica had connections to all three main political parties. The father of her wounded niece is a bodyguard to opposition leader Sam Rainsy. Peaklica was linked to Funcinpec through the Ministry of Culture, where the party holds sway. (Sihanouk personally donated $10,000 to her funeral.) She was messily divorced from actor Khay Prasith, who subsequently moved to Australia, and her recent relationships seem to have been with senior members of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen. The plot thickened with revelations of a luxury villa used by Peaklica. The property, valued at around $100,000, is in the vicinity of Takmeo, a CPP stronghold close to the PM's main residence. Who actually owns the villa turned into a bit of a mystery after its former owner claimed to have lost the sale documentation.

The murder has thrown a spotlight on Cambodia's culture of brazen violence, which continues to cast a shadow right across society. With its potential for shedding light on embarrassing details, the case is clearly something that many powerful figures would prefer to see go unsolved. "Would the person be arrested even if the police knew who was responsible?" asks a cynical senior Funcinpec member. There are reasons to be doubtful. The special task force established to solve the killing is headed by Teng Savong, the general who investigated the 1997 grenade attack on a march led by Sam Rainsy. That attack left at least 16 people dead and scores more wounded, but as yet nobody has even been called to account despite the existence of significant video footage of the incident.

There has been a similar lack of progress in tracking down those behind the some 100 political killings that followed the bloody CPP-Funcinpec clash in August 1997 from which Hun Sen's forces emerged victorious. One of the most prominent victims was a Funcinpec secretary of state, Gen. Ho Sok, who was executed extrajudicially on police premises. He had been handed over to police from the compound of an ASEAN diplomat after receiving assurances for his safety.

But the murder of Peaklica, a public darling, has caused outrage that may be much harder to ignore than the politically motivated mayhem. The widely expected failure to make arrests would demonstrate at best police incompetence, at worst a monstrous official cover-up. And it comes at a bad time for Hun Sen. All year he has been struggling to convince the world that Cambodia can be subject to the rule of law and is capable of staging a credible tribunal for the surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge. It is ironic indeed that his efforts are being undermined not by any of his many political enemies but by a dead actress.

Cambodia Daily, January 24, 2000

[Note: The following letter was published in The Cambodia Daily, January 24, 2000, and is distributed here with the permission of the writer. BH]

Letter to the Editor

Justice in Cambodia Done Only When Officials see 'Need'

Thanks for "Authorities to Seek Sam Bith" (Thursday, January 20, page1). The article is particularly useful as it puts Co-Minister of Defense Tea Banh on record with this statement: "When we need to [apprehend someone] it is always successful."

In addition to Sam Bith, I hope that statement is read by Khun Sophal and her two bodyguards who police say held down 19-year-old Tang Samarina while they poured several liters of nitric acid on her face last month. A warrant has already been issued, so it surely is just a matter of time before they are arrested and brought to trial.

On the other hand, it has been six months since the fatal shooting of Piseth Peaklica and the wounding of her young niece on a Phnom Penh street and there has been no reported progress in that case (were the witnesses ever even interviewed?).

And it has been almost one year since witnesses reported seeing police officer Sin Kimsan shoot 19-year-old Chen Srey Pao through the forehead when she refused to leave a club with him. Was a warrant ever issued in that case? The trail might be getting a bit cold after all this time.

In light of Minister Tea Banh's statement and the abundant evidence suggesting the contrary (and there is a great deal of evidence from many, many cases), there seem to be two possibilities. Either the minister is just bragging or we need to take him at his word. He said
"When we NEED to [apprehend someone] it is always successful." What constitutes NEED? In the cases of Nuon Paet, Chhuok Rin, Sam Bith, Ta Mok and "Duch," the NEED was created by sustained international pressure.

Most Cambodians are deeply concerned about the level of savagery in this society. Like any Democracy, Cambodia needs responsible political institutions and leaders as well as a responsible media to support the hard work of building a more civil society. At the moment, those ingredients may appear to be in short supply, but the institutions of civil society and the elements of a responsible media are alive and growing in Cambodia.

There is much reason to be hopeful. Cambodia has King Sihanouk - a world-class statesman of intelligence, grace, dignity and boundless energy who is regarded with universal affection and respect. Cambodia has a stable political leadership made up of many capable and proven individuals from Prime Minister Hun Sen down.

Cambodia is blessed with talented and dedicated men and women such as Chea Vannath, Chhang Song, Kek Galabru, Lao Mong Hay, Mu Sochua, Ok Serei Sopheak, Son Chhay, Thun Saray and a host of others who regularly and eloquently speak out on issues of urgent concern, giving voice to the desire of ordinary Cambodians for peace with justice now. Cambodia
has a rich mixture of local and international journalists who work hard - sometimes at great personal risk - to provide the information and analysis needed for the institutions of civil society to take root and flourish.

Of course there are corrupt government officials, political opportunists and dishonest journalists here too, just as in any other country, but they are not likely to make much of a contribution to the future of Cambodia, except to slow progress.

When officials consider how they are going to proceed on matters such as implementing the rule of law, I hope they will listen as carefully to Cambodians as they occasionally do to the international community.

When officials say they have the ability to arrest someone when they "need" to, I hope Cambodians will tell them exactly what is "needed" and put that assertion to the test -- the acid test.