SUOS Thy
Pseudonym: KW-07
Cases: Case 001
Category: Witness
Background and Role
Suos Thy, a farmer,
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joined the Khmer Rouge militia in 1971.
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He was reassigned as a medic after being wounded in 1973,
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and began working at PJ prison (the central police prison) in late 1975 at the request of Hor, regiment chief in Division 703.
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In late 1975 or early 1976, PJ prison moved to Tuol Sleng,
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as did Thy.
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Duch acknowledged Thy’s role at S-21,
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describing his testimony as truthful.
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The Trial Chamber relied on Thy’s testimony in making findings about S-21’s structure and operations, who was detained there, and how they were treated and eventually killed.
PJ Prison
PJ Prison belonged to division 703.
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Nat was the chair first, and Huy was his deputy.
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Duch then replaced Nat.
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Thy was responsible for preparing lists of detainees brought into PJ prison.
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He recorded the detainee’s name, their parents’ names, and where they were from.
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He estimated there were less than 100 detainees, mostly factory workers and “the people of the 17th of April”.
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He said he didn’t know why people were detained at PJ prison.
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When PJ prison was closed, all the detainees were transferred to S-21.
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S-21 Command Structure
Duch was the chairman of S-21; everything had to be done through him.
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Duch would give instructions to his deputy Hor, who would relay them to Thy.
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When PJ prison transferred to S-21, Thy was transferred too. He was initially assigned to keep lists; write and record detainees’ biographies; and report on the daily number of incoming and outgoing detainees.
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In court, Thy confirmed he had prepared detainee lists and biographies.
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Thy kept records of detainees’ statuses, such as whether they were sick, escaped, or died, and made a daily report.
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Every day at 7am, Thy gave Hor a list of incoming detainees. After Hor signed the list, Thy took it to Meng, the head of the interrogation unit.
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Peng was in charge of the lists of detainees at S-21.
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Thy explained S-21 had three primary units: S-21A, which included the interrogation unit, and economics, photography and typing sections;
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S-21B, which included the guards’ unit (including the Special Unit) and cadre cooks;
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and S-21D, the rice fields unit or re-education unit later known as S-24.
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Thy served in S-21B.
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The medical unit was initially under S-21A, but after the original medics were arrested, new medics were placed under S-21B.
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Thy concluded that the General Staff supervised S-21.
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Staff members at S-21 feared their superiors would have them arrested or killed.
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Even Hor was afraid of Duch.
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Thy claimed he did not like his work, but felt he had to continue or he would be arrested like other staff.
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In court, he expressed regret that detainees were killed.
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Detainees
Detainees were brought to S-21 from all over Cambodia.
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The Special Unit would bring in handcuffed and blindfolded detainees and Thy would record a brief biography including a detainee’s name, position, and where they were from.
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Detainees would be stripped to their underwear and of their belongings,
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photographed, and taken to their cells.
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Thy would record where a detainee was held.
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Detainees’ photographs were later attached to their biographies.
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Typically, detainees were brought in small numbers, but towards late 1978 some groups were brought en masse.
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Small groups would be brought in on foot, and larger groups by vehicle.
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Families were arrested together: wives with husbands and children with their parents.
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The children were not photographed, their biographies were not taken, and they were not registered in official lists.
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About 100 Vietnamese civilians and fewer Vietnamese soldiers were detained;
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their interrogation was supervised by Mam Nai, aka Chan.
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Important detainees were placed in a special prison.
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If one became ill, Duch was informed.
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Thy was not involved when those detainees were smashed, but Hor would inform him so he could include them in reports.
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About 100 S-21 staff were arrested on Duch’s orders; Hor gave Thy their names afterwards.
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Once arrested, they were treated like other detainees and eventually killed.
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All the medical staff were arrested and replaced with teenagers.
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Conditions of detention
Most detainees were malnourished and held in poorly ventilated rooms.
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Some starved or were tortured almost to death.
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If a detainee died, the medical unit would report they had been ill.
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When detainees died, Thy adjusted the detainee list.
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There were lists of detainees to be smashed and whose blood was to be drawn.
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Duch had to authorize any removal of a detainee from S-21,
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and identified who should be smashed.
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Duch gave Hor lists with annotations which Hor relayed to Thy.
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Thy then registered the detainees’ room numbers and Hor assigned guards to remove them from their cells.
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Thy confirmed detainees’ identities at the front gate.
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They were then taken away for execution, often by truck,
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usually around 4pm.
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Children were separated from their parents and were all killed.
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After executions, Thy verified the list of remaining detainees
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and provided a list of smashed detainees.
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Thy did not recall any detainee being released, though one escaped.
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He did not recall any detainee remaining at S-21 longer than two months.
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In late 1978 or early 1979, all detainees were taken away and killed except those who were allowed to work and those in the special prison.
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The medical unit would request authorization from Hor to draw blood from detainees, and Hor would request authorization from Duch.
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If it was authorized, Thy would tell the guards where the relevant detainees were held.
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Thy estimated about 20 detainees had their blood drawn,
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though the Chamber found more than 100 had been subjected to this treatment.
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When a detainee’s blood was drawn, it was reported to Hor, who would include that detainee on the list to be smashed.
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Departure from S-21
Videos
| Date | Written record of proceedings | Transcript number |
|---|---|---|
| 27 July 2009 | E1/54 | E1/54.1 |
| 28 July 2009 | E1/55 | E1/55.1 |
| Document title Khmer | Document title English | Document title French | Document D number | Document E3 number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| កំណត់ហេតុនៃការស្តាប់ចម្លើយសាក្សីឈ្មោះ សួស ធី របស់សហ ចៅក្រមស៊ើបអង្កេត ចុះថ្ងៃទី១៨ តុលា ឆ្នាំ២០០៧ | Written Record of Interview of SUOS Thy by OCIJ on 18 October 2007 | Procès-verbal de l’audition du témoin SUOS Thy par le Bureau des co-juges d’instruction le 18 octobre 2007 | D22/9 | E3/444 |
| ឧបសម្ព័ន្ធ៨៖ បទសម្ភាសន៍ជាមួយ សួស ធី | Interview with Suos Thy | Interrogatoire de Suos Thy | D61/I-Annex 08.2 | E3/445 |