I Never Killed Anyone
The Khmer Rouge Cadre Defense: I Never Killed Anyone
Incarcerated Because Her Photograph Was Displayed At Toul Sleng Genocide Museum
Vannak Huy
Researcher, Documentation Center of Cambodia
Tuy Kin served eighteen months in prison solely because of the fact that her photograph was exhibited at the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum among other photographs of persons alleged to have worked at the S-21 prison under the Khmer Rouge regime. She was accused by the Kandal Provincial Court of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) of having taken part in the killing of hundreds of prisoners. Tuy Kin has been haunted by the photograph in question for more than twenty five years, during which time she has been living under constant suspicion from her neighbors concerning her past. Tuy Kin rejects the accusations, and insists that she never killed anyone. She asserts that the PRK Provincial Court’s 1984 verdict against her was premised solely on the grounds that a copy of her “mug shot” was displayed at the museum, and that the witnesses against her, such as the military commander of Po Ban Sub-district and cadres of Koh Thom District, were biased against her.
Ten days after she learned that her “mug shot” had been put on display at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, Tuy Kin was arrested. Prior to her arrest, two women were summoned by the District authorities to answer questions about Tuy Kin. These two women had been imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge in 1978, yet their photos also appeared at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum over a caption indicating that they too had worked at the S-21 prison. After being questioned, these two women informed Tuy Kin that all of their photos were on display at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum as having been high-ranking workers in the Khmer Rouge regime. Ten days later the Sub-District Chief summoned Tuy Kin for inquiry and to commence a proceeding against her.
Tuy Kin stated that she was seven months pregnant at the time of her arrest. She was handcuffed and threatened with a pistol. Under the circumstances, she thought it was best to tell her interrogators what she thought they wanted to hear. “They hated me and publicly pronounced that I had been a worker and murderer at the S-21 prison (Toul Sleng). I was then imprisoned for one-and-a-half years.” The other two women were permitted to return home after a four-day interrogation.
The former military commander of Po Ban Sub-district from 1983 to 1986 was the first to prepare a case against Tuy Kin. He insists that all of his allegations were true and that Tuy Kin did work at the S-21 prison (known as Toul Sleng). At the end of 1984 this individual had been working on biographies of those who had been allied with the Pol Pot regime, this under the direction of two Vietnamese “experts” stationed at Koh Thom District, comrades Teu Din and Nam Minh. The investigation was being conducted for fear that there would be a resurgence of Khmer Rouge internal forces. The investigation covered the entire sub-district. Anyone suspected of having had links with the Khmer Rouge regime, or whose biographies were questionable, would not be permitted to hold any government position or particularly, to serve in the militia. This military commander stated that his information about Tuy Kin had been provided by villagers. After receiving this initial information, he and two subordinates went to the village to interrogate Tuy Kin for three nights. On the first two nights they interrogated Tuy Kin at her homestead, telling her that “If anything wrong happens, I will be a problem shooter at the higher level.” On the third night, Tuy Kin was brought to the Sub-district Office of Po Ban, where the commander telling her that if her answers did not correspond to the villagers’ accusations, she would face ‘consequences’. At around 8:00 p.m. that night Tuy Kin admitted to having been a worker at the S-21 prison, as well as having killed hundreds of prisoners. Tuy Kin was held at the Sub-district Office while the commander completed his report and submitted it to the Vietnamese investigators at Koh Thom District. In the morning, the Vietnamese experts came to pick up Tuy Kin, who was taken to district headquarters and thence to the provincial court for legal proceedings.
An undated, one-page report compiled by the PRK genocide research committee, entitled “An Interview With A Woman, Tuy Kin”, reads in part:
...I worked under (my) superiors, who ordered me to kill (inmates). I had no choice. As a result, I killed 300 people. I do not remember the execution site. It might have been around Toul Sleng (S-21) prison….I was only supposed to prepare equipment and call prisoners out for execution….Two other men committed the killing by themselves…. Prisoners were killed by electrical shock…. The violent were carried out on the periphery of Toul Sleng (S-21). The prisoners’ were supposed to be authorized by Duch’s order, rather than himself. I never met Duch. The orders stated, “Propose you to let out prisoners by the names of….” At Toul Sleng (S-21) I knew only contemptible Huy and the all-powerful Duch...
Roat Nim, a former female Khmer Rouge combatant from Division 12, who had herself been accused of incorrect politics and brought to Prey Sar prison, stated that “Tuy Kin was not a cadre of the S-21 prison as implicated by the accusation, for in fact she had also been accused of harboring some sort of political trend, and had been sent to the same place I was for tempering, Prey Sar prison.” Roat Nim asserted that her photo had also been displayed at the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. She asserted that near the end of 1978, a comrade named Yon, chief of a women’s battalion, had asked to take Roat’s photograph when she was hauling water to the communal kitchen. Roat Nim had heard a rumors that photographs would be taken for use in connection with personal biographies. After having their photographs taken, every cadre was required to fill out a one-page biography and submit it to their group leader. One day in the 1980s, while visiting Toul Sleng Genocide Museum with her relatives, Roat Nim saw her photograph being displayed along with those of many others who had been sent to Prey Sar prison for “self-tempering”. Beneath these photographs was a caption reading “The Khmer Rouge Cadre”.
Tuy Kin stated that in mid-1978, comrade Yon had summoned her to be photographed while she had been tending vegetables. She and the others who were photographed were not told the purpose of the pictures. One month later comrade Yon ordered Tuy Kin and five other women to cease their work and prepare their clothing for relocation. At sunset a covered truck pulled up in front of the office, upon which three security guards ordered the women to board the truck. Before climbing onto the truck, Tuy Kin asked comrade Yon, “Sister Yon, what have I done wrong? You have never asked me for self-education.” Comrade Yon replied, “There is no need to ask! Get into the truck quickly!” Then, the guards handcuffed Tuy Kin along with the five other cadres and drove them to Prey Sar prison, where they found many inmates cuffed together in lines. A prison guard named Phal asked Tuy Kin, “Do you know what is wrong with you?” When Tuy Kin replied “No”, the guard shouted, “That is why Angkar has taken you here!” After serving one month at Prey Sar prison, Tuy Kin was asked by a military pilot named comrade Sreng if she would marry him. Tuy Kin and Sreng had had a relationship during the war against the Lon Nol regime. Angkar permitted the wedding to go forward, but three days before the ceremony the Vietnamese entered Phnom Penh, which ended their plans for marriage.
In reminiscing about her experiences with the Khmer Rouge, Tuy Kin recalled that after the coup against King Sihanouk, the chiefs of her village, Kry and Chum, had appointed her as a member of the village women’s unit. She was ordered to undergo political training for one week, after which she would be permitted to return home. She soon discovered that this had merely been a ruse for tricking children and young people into joining the Khmer Rouge to fight against the Lon Nol regime. From then, at the age of seventeen, until April 17th 1975, Tuy Kin had a great amount of battlefield experience. Her daily task was to carry food and ammunition to the frontline troops of Division 12. After the liberation of Phnom Penh on April 17th 1975, the Khmer Rouge began to purge male and female combatants with questionable biographies or relatives within the Lon Nol regime. As a result, some 100 cadres, including Tuy Kin, were brought to Prey Sar prison. Tuy Kin’s biography was found questionable due to the fact that her father had been a Lon Nol’s soldier. At Prey Sar prison, Tuy Kin was assigned to the farming unit. In early 1977 comrade Yon transferred her to the vegetation group under the command of comrade Ly. Angkar often asked her to drive an ox cart loaded with rice to supply the soldiers at Prey Sar prison.
Now aged 44, Tuy Kin is currently a farmer living back in the village where she was born. Emotionally, she states simply that “Hardship is my history. In Pol Pot’s time, I was brought to Prey Sar prison without knowing what I had done wrong. And because of the presence of my photograph at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, I had to serve nearly two years imprisonment at Kandal Province. Today I am praying and swearing to God that I never killed anyone or had my hands stained with blood. If it be otherwise, may I be punished by all the supreme beings.”
(This article was published on the magazine Searching for the truth!, Rasmei Kampuchea Daily Newspaper, and Cambodge Sior Newspaper.)
-End-
Incarcerated Because Her Photograph Was Displayed At Toul Sleng Genocide Museum
Vannak Huy
Researcher, Documentation Center of Cambodia
Tuy Kin served eighteen months in prison solely because of the fact that her photograph was exhibited at the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum among other photographs of persons alleged to have worked at the S-21 prison under the Khmer Rouge regime. She was accused by the Kandal Provincial Court of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) of having taken part in the killing of hundreds of prisoners. Tuy Kin has been haunted by the photograph in question for more than twenty five years, during which time she has been living under constant suspicion from her neighbors concerning her past. Tuy Kin rejects the accusations, and insists that she never killed anyone. She asserts that the PRK Provincial Court’s 1984 verdict against her was premised solely on the grounds that a copy of her “mug shot” was displayed at the museum, and that the witnesses against her, such as the military commander of Po Ban Sub-district and cadres of Koh Thom District, were biased against her.
Ten days after she learned that her “mug shot” had been put on display at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, Tuy Kin was arrested. Prior to her arrest, two women were summoned by the District authorities to answer questions about Tuy Kin. These two women had been imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge in 1978, yet their photos also appeared at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum over a caption indicating that they too had worked at the S-21 prison. After being questioned, these two women informed Tuy Kin that all of their photos were on display at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum as having been high-ranking workers in the Khmer Rouge regime. Ten days later the Sub-District Chief summoned Tuy Kin for inquiry and to commence a proceeding against her.
Tuy Kin stated that she was seven months pregnant at the time of her arrest. She was handcuffed and threatened with a pistol. Under the circumstances, she thought it was best to tell her interrogators what she thought they wanted to hear. “They hated me and publicly pronounced that I had been a worker and murderer at the S-21 prison (Toul Sleng). I was then imprisoned for one-and-a-half years.” The other two women were permitted to return home after a four-day interrogation.
The former military commander of Po Ban Sub-district from 1983 to 1986 was the first to prepare a case against Tuy Kin. He insists that all of his allegations were true and that Tuy Kin did work at the S-21 prison (known as Toul Sleng). At the end of 1984 this individual had been working on biographies of those who had been allied with the Pol Pot regime, this under the direction of two Vietnamese “experts” stationed at Koh Thom District, comrades Teu Din and Nam Minh. The investigation was being conducted for fear that there would be a resurgence of Khmer Rouge internal forces. The investigation covered the entire sub-district. Anyone suspected of having had links with the Khmer Rouge regime, or whose biographies were questionable, would not be permitted to hold any government position or particularly, to serve in the militia. This military commander stated that his information about Tuy Kin had been provided by villagers. After receiving this initial information, he and two subordinates went to the village to interrogate Tuy Kin for three nights. On the first two nights they interrogated Tuy Kin at her homestead, telling her that “If anything wrong happens, I will be a problem shooter at the higher level.” On the third night, Tuy Kin was brought to the Sub-district Office of Po Ban, where the commander telling her that if her answers did not correspond to the villagers’ accusations, she would face ‘consequences’. At around 8:00 p.m. that night Tuy Kin admitted to having been a worker at the S-21 prison, as well as having killed hundreds of prisoners. Tuy Kin was held at the Sub-district Office while the commander completed his report and submitted it to the Vietnamese investigators at Koh Thom District. In the morning, the Vietnamese experts came to pick up Tuy Kin, who was taken to district headquarters and thence to the provincial court for legal proceedings.
An undated, one-page report compiled by the PRK genocide research committee, entitled “An Interview With A Woman, Tuy Kin”, reads in part:
...I worked under (my) superiors, who ordered me to kill (inmates). I had no choice. As a result, I killed 300 people. I do not remember the execution site. It might have been around Toul Sleng (S-21) prison….I was only supposed to prepare equipment and call prisoners out for execution….Two other men committed the killing by themselves…. Prisoners were killed by electrical shock…. The violent were carried out on the periphery of Toul Sleng (S-21). The prisoners’ were supposed to be authorized by Duch’s order, rather than himself. I never met Duch. The orders stated, “Propose you to let out prisoners by the names of….” At Toul Sleng (S-21) I knew only contemptible Huy and the all-powerful Duch...
Roat Nim, a former female Khmer Rouge combatant from Division 12, who had herself been accused of incorrect politics and brought to Prey Sar prison, stated that “Tuy Kin was not a cadre of the S-21 prison as implicated by the accusation, for in fact she had also been accused of harboring some sort of political trend, and had been sent to the same place I was for tempering, Prey Sar prison.” Roat Nim asserted that her photo had also been displayed at the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. She asserted that near the end of 1978, a comrade named Yon, chief of a women’s battalion, had asked to take Roat’s photograph when she was hauling water to the communal kitchen. Roat Nim had heard a rumors that photographs would be taken for use in connection with personal biographies. After having their photographs taken, every cadre was required to fill out a one-page biography and submit it to their group leader. One day in the 1980s, while visiting Toul Sleng Genocide Museum with her relatives, Roat Nim saw her photograph being displayed along with those of many others who had been sent to Prey Sar prison for “self-tempering”. Beneath these photographs was a caption reading “The Khmer Rouge Cadre”.
Tuy Kin stated that in mid-1978, comrade Yon had summoned her to be photographed while she had been tending vegetables. She and the others who were photographed were not told the purpose of the pictures. One month later comrade Yon ordered Tuy Kin and five other women to cease their work and prepare their clothing for relocation. At sunset a covered truck pulled up in front of the office, upon which three security guards ordered the women to board the truck. Before climbing onto the truck, Tuy Kin asked comrade Yon, “Sister Yon, what have I done wrong? You have never asked me for self-education.” Comrade Yon replied, “There is no need to ask! Get into the truck quickly!” Then, the guards handcuffed Tuy Kin along with the five other cadres and drove them to Prey Sar prison, where they found many inmates cuffed together in lines. A prison guard named Phal asked Tuy Kin, “Do you know what is wrong with you?” When Tuy Kin replied “No”, the guard shouted, “That is why Angkar has taken you here!” After serving one month at Prey Sar prison, Tuy Kin was asked by a military pilot named comrade Sreng if she would marry him. Tuy Kin and Sreng had had a relationship during the war against the Lon Nol regime. Angkar permitted the wedding to go forward, but three days before the ceremony the Vietnamese entered Phnom Penh, which ended their plans for marriage.
In reminiscing about her experiences with the Khmer Rouge, Tuy Kin recalled that after the coup against King Sihanouk, the chiefs of her village, Kry and Chum, had appointed her as a member of the village women’s unit. She was ordered to undergo political training for one week, after which she would be permitted to return home. She soon discovered that this had merely been a ruse for tricking children and young people into joining the Khmer Rouge to fight against the Lon Nol regime. From then, at the age of seventeen, until April 17th 1975, Tuy Kin had a great amount of battlefield experience. Her daily task was to carry food and ammunition to the frontline troops of Division 12. After the liberation of Phnom Penh on April 17th 1975, the Khmer Rouge began to purge male and female combatants with questionable biographies or relatives within the Lon Nol regime. As a result, some 100 cadres, including Tuy Kin, were brought to Prey Sar prison. Tuy Kin’s biography was found questionable due to the fact that her father had been a Lon Nol’s soldier. At Prey Sar prison, Tuy Kin was assigned to the farming unit. In early 1977 comrade Yon transferred her to the vegetation group under the command of comrade Ly. Angkar often asked her to drive an ox cart loaded with rice to supply the soldiers at Prey Sar prison.
Now aged 44, Tuy Kin is currently a farmer living back in the village where she was born. Emotionally, she states simply that “Hardship is my history. In Pol Pot’s time, I was brought to Prey Sar prison without knowing what I had done wrong. And because of the presence of my photograph at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, I had to serve nearly two years imprisonment at Kandal Province. Today I am praying and swearing to God that I never killed anyone or had my hands stained with blood. If it be otherwise, may I be punished by all the supreme beings.”
(This article was published on the magazine Searching for the truth!, Rasmei Kampuchea Daily Newspaper, and Cambodge Sior Newspaper.)
-End-
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