THEAV Neab/KHIEV Neab

Background and role

Khieu Neab lived in Kampong Thom province in Kampong Savy district after the fall of Lon Nol regime. In 1978, her husband brought her to stay with him in Phnom Penh, where he was a worker in the state supply office connected to Office 870, the central office of the Community Party of Kampuchea (CPK). Khieu Neab worked as a cook in Office 870. Later that year, she was removed from her job and sent to work in the rice field in Phnom Penh before being transferred to Battambang province. She testified before the Trial Chamber as a Civil Party in Case 002/02 about the treatment of former Lon Nol officials, the arrest and execution of her family members and co-workers at S-21 prison, and her experience as a pregnant woman working in the rice field.

Treatment and execution of Lon Nol officials

After their victory over Lon Nol regime on 17 April 1975, Khmer Rouge soldiers tricked Khieu Neab’s uncle, Chhun Chhoeung, into disclosing his status as a former Lon Nol soldier by telling him that he could return to his former post after presenting himself. Chhun Chhoeung was then arrested and disappeared. Khieu Neab knew the circumstances leading to his arrest from two individuals living in her uncle’s native village. One of them named Ro survived for a while because he did not fall for the soldier’s trick. However, Ro was later arrested and taken away after the Khmer Rouge discovered that he was also a former Lon Nol soldier. Khieu Neab’s husband, Kung Cheu alias Choeun, and his co-workers, Ye and Run, disappeared after their arrest in December 1978. Khieu Neab did not know the motive behind the arrest, which she learnt from her three-year-old son who witnessed it. She explained: “I was with him on the night before the day of his arrest and the next day it was around eight or nine in the morning, my husband disappeared […] I went to an office and asked people there “where is my husband” and I was told that my husband had already departed. To hear this, I could not think of anything because his belongings were still with me. My child was playing behind the house, so I asked my child “where was your father?” and he said he went with Uncle Nhe and Uncle Run [...]” Her husband’s supervisor, Vuy, also disappeared. After seeing a list of prisoners at S-21, Khieu Neab confirmed in court that Choeun, Nhe, Run and Vuy were arrested and sent to S-21 prison for execution in 1978.

Her suffering as a pregnant woman working in the rice field

One day following the disappearance of her husband, Khieu Neab was relieved from her job and sent to work in Chey Otdam pagoda, where she was instructed to harvest rice when she was pregnant. She described to the court “at that time, I was six or seven months pregnant, but I did not dare to protest. I felt fearful because my husband was gone, and my child was small. So, I had to work every day”. In February or March in 1978, she was transferred to Battambang, where she was assigned to look after children of workers working in the rice field until the delivery of her second child.

Videos

Testimony
Date	Written record of proceedings	Transcript number
29 November 2016	E1/503	E1/503.1
30 November 2016	E1/504	E1/504.1

Relevant documents
Document title Khmer	Document title English	Document title French	Document D number	Document E3 number
ពាក្យសុំតាំងខ្លួនជាដើមបណ្តឹងរដ្ឋប្បវេណីរបស់អ្នកស្រី ធៀវ នាប 08-VU-00436	Civil party application THEAV Neab 08-VU-00436	Constitution de partie civile de THEAV Neab 08-VU-00436	D22/2038	E3/6425
កំណត់ហេតុនៃការស្តាប់ចម្លើយដើមបណ្តឹងរដ្ឋប្បវេណីឈ្មោះ ខៀវ នាប	Written Record of Interview of Civil Party KHEAV Neap	Procès-verbal d’audition de la partie civile KHEAV Neap	N/A	E3/9479