SO Soung (SO Saung)

Background

So Soung is a Khmer national, who testified as a Civil Party before the Case 001 Trial Chamber about the disappearance and death of her brother-in-law Meas Sun, and the suffering she endured due to his absence.¹ When she was seven years old, her parents separated,² after which she and her elder sister Em Saun were sent to live with their uncle.³ In 1967, So Soung moved in with Em Saun and her husband Meas Sun (also known as Teng Sun).⁴ Em Saun and Meas Sun financially supported So Soung and provided her with an education.⁵ So Soung filed the Civil Party application on her sister’s behalf because at the time of the application, her sister was afraid of being killed and was ill.⁶

Disappearance of her brother-in-law

So Soung lived with Meas Sun when he was chief of the commune in Chakkrei Ting, before being transferred to work in Pouk district in Siem Reap.⁷ In 1970, during the time of the fighting between the Lon Nol and the Khmer Rouge soldiers, Meas Sun asked her to live with her mother in the Liberated Zone.⁸ So Soung claimed that Meas Sun sent her away because he was concerned that Lon Nol soldiers would rape her.⁹ She maintained contact with Meas Sun until 1974, when Angkar assigned her to Srey Ambel.¹⁰ However, in 1976, she contracted a disease and requested to return home for treatment.¹¹ In 1978, Em Saun documented that her husband had not arrived home.¹² So Soung heard of Meas Sun’s death in 1979.¹³ In 1980, So Soung learned that her uncle saw a photo of Meas Sun at Tuol Sleng.¹⁴ She did not see this photo at the time.¹⁵ Years later, she heard through Em Saun that Meas Sun had been detained for 10 days in Siem Reap, and then in Battambang and Phnom Penh before his execution.¹⁶ So Soung does not know why he was detained or arrested.¹⁷ Having heard that she could file an application to join as a Civil Party and find her lost relative, So Soung asked for assistance to search for a photo of Meas Sun.¹⁸ In 2009, she obtained the photo,¹⁹ and produced it before the chief of the commune to help certify Meas Sun’s identity and prove that he perished at S-21 Security Centre.²⁰

Suffering endured due to the absence of her brother-in-law

So Soung explained that her family was affected by poverty and the suffering they endured.²¹ In 1987, she was married and moved away from her sister.²² However, she would set aside some of her income from various jobs to support her sister’s family.²³ Even though So Soung financially supports her nieces and nephews, she struggles to do so without the assistance of her brother-in-law.²⁴ Her sister is unable to support her children, who are unable to go to school and are now illiterate.²⁵

Probative value of the evidence presented

So Soung’s lawyer provided photographic evidence of Meas Sun at S-21 to the Trial Chamber during her testimony.²⁶ A certificate from the mayor of Em Saun’s commune was also provided to the Trial Chamber as evidence of So Soung’s relation to Meas Sun, and to prove that he was detained at S-21.²⁷ The parties discussed the probative value of the officially stamped documents which provided kinship links between So Soung and Meas Sun.²⁸ This was for two reasons. First, defence counsel found an issue with So Soung’s affidavit because the mayor who certified Meas Sun’s identity did so more than 30 years after the events, and there was no birth certificate nor marriage certificate supporting the link between So Soung and Meas Sun.²⁹ Second, defence counsel found it difficult to prove So Soung’s kinship link to Meas Sun due to the discrepancies in her Civil Party application.³⁰ The Trial Chamber rejected So Soung’s application on the basis that the photograph provided no attestation of Meas Sun’s identity on its own.³¹ Further, the Trial Chamber found that no proof was provided of any dependency or special bonds of affection between So Soung and Meas Sun.³² On appeal, the Supreme Court Chamber found that while So Soung’s attestation of Meas Sun’s identity was sufficient,³³ the Civil Party Co-Lawyers did not submit any evidence to establish special bonds of affection or dependence.³⁴ Holding that mere kinship did not lead to a presumption of closeness, in the absence of documentary or other material evidence, and without detailed testimonial evidence, the Supreme Court Chamber found that there were no grounds to reverse the Trial Chamber’s decision that So Soung did not demonstrate her victim status.³⁵

Statement of Suffering

In 1975 he lived in Chakkrei Ting, Kampot, and I lived in Srae Ambel, Koh Kong. And I actually lived with him when he was the chief of the commune in Chakkrei Ting. Later on he was transferred to the north to Pouk district in Siem Reap. That was the last time we saw each other and we could see one another again only later years. When I met my sister again she told me that her husband was already killed and that he had been detained for 10 days in Siem Reap and then detained in Battambang before he was transferred to Phnom Penh to be detained further and executed. In 1980 Uncle Ny (phonetic), who already died actually back then, saw the photo of Brother Sun at Tuol Sleng and then he told about this to my sister. But she would not want to pay a visit to Tuol Sleng because she would be afraid she could not stand seeing the photo of her dead husband. Later on we had to struggle to hold onto life and in 1987 I got married and I departed from her and I lived in Kampong Som and I could manage to set aside some of the income I earn from my business to support her. And after 1979 because of the poverty ridden in the family itself, brother Sun's family and kids could not manage to go to school and they had no one to support their education. So there was no school for them. When she was encouraged to file an application to join as a civil party at the Court she was reluctant to do so because she was afraid she too would die but I was strong enough to act on her behalf to file an application to join as a civil party. I dare no -- I was afraid of no death.³⁶

Videos

Testimony
Date	Written record of proceedings	Transcript number
18/August/2009	E1/64	E1/64.1

Relevant documents
Document title Khmer	Document title English	Document title French	Document D number	Document E3 number
ពាក្យសុំតាំងខ្លួនជាដើមបណ្តឹងរដ្ឋ ប្បវេណីរបស់ សូ សូង	Civil Party Application of So Saung	Constitution de partie civile de So Saung	N/A	E2/34