No mercy for Cambodian officials when it comes to drug-testing

While addressing the July 22 “Policies and strategies in the fight against drugs” forum at the Council of Ministers, Meas Vyrith, secretary-general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD), said that to date, 99,300 civil servants and members of the armed forces have been tested for drug use across the country. Of them, 97 returned positive results.

“Of the 97, 89 have already been dismissed from their positions with the state. The dismissal procedure is still underway in seven cases, while one individual remains under investigation,” he explained, adding that any officials who are dissatisfied with the result are free to file a complaint to a committee that was established to deal with any irregularities.

“So far, none of them have filed a complaint against the decision. They all accepted the result,” he noted.

Among the institutions tested were 14 ministries and 16 sub-national administrations in all 25 capital provinces. The testing was not announced in advance. 

The process will register the use of drugs up to five days before the test is carried out, according to Chhim Sith Bonrith, deputy secretary-general of the NACD.  

“We only work for a few days at each institution, and test thousands of officials. If they have used drugs within the last five days, even if it was accidental or their first time, they will test positive,” she told the forum attendees.

Testing was conducted by government order 01 dated February 20, which introduced strict measures in the fight against illegal drugs in ministries, institutions and sub-national administrations. It includes civil servants, officials, police officers, members of the armed forces and contract officers.

Vyrith explained that the government is taking the strictest measures against all forms of drug trafficking, and this includes the eradication of drug problems in state institutions.

According to Vyrith, Drug trafficking cases committed by public officials are always prosecuted and carry severe penalties, especially for members of the armed forces and police.

“About drug trafficking, the law must be strictly enforced. Even a general involved with drug cases must be convicted, without exception,” he added while explaining that he did not have a current report on the number of cases that involved officials.

He estimated that the number of drug users in Cambodia today does not exceed 30,000 to 40,000, noting that about 80 % of them were aged 18 to 35. He believed that less than 10 % of them were women.

“Through surveys, we have collected accurate data for around only 20,000 addicts. I suspect that the number of people who do not provide us with information could be double or triple that. Some countries multiply by five, depending on several factors,” he said.

The NACD is implementing a new system to manage drug addict numbers more accurately. 

To prevent young people from becoming drug users, the NACD and relevant authorities are stepping up public education activities to raise awareness of the effects and dangers of narcotics, as well as the Kingdom’s anti-drug laws.

During the first six months of the year, the NACD estimated that around 16 million people, equivalent to almost the entire population of Cambodia, participated in awareness-raising activities.

NACD deputy secretary-general Chey Bopha explained that drug rehabilitation is carried out at community health centres and provincial referral hospitals, as well as national hospitals. 

In addition, there are 15 dedicated drug rehabilitation centres in the Kingdom. Six are state-run while seven are part of the private sector. There are also two NGO-run centres. At present, they are treating almost 20,000 addicts. Another two rehabilitation centres are slated to open shortly.

During the first 203 days of the year, 5,656 drug cases were investigated, with 13,955 individuals arrested. 5.258 tonnes of narcotics were seized during the same period, according to Vyrith. 

Phak Seangly

The Phnom Penh Post

Asia News Network