The Economy and Finance Ministry opened the purse strings in September and released unplanned budget items for spending on food for prisoners, helicopter repairs, recruitment of soldiers and a meeting at the Justice Ministry.
The four documents were all signed by the prime minister on December 30, 2022, and publicly released in May in the Royal Gazette. They allocate unplanned spending to the defense, interior and justice ministries, and to the Council of Ministers.
The Justice Ministry received $29,800 for a meeting of a committee to provide legal assistance. The Justice Ministry is a primary funder for the Bar Associations of Cambodia’s department of legal aid.
In 2019, Prime Minister Hun Sen also created a legal aid fund, using his own money, to help vulnerable women, especially in the garment sector stuck in legal disputes. He separately indicated that this legal team would also help journalists who were “ethical.” The legal aid fund is run by CPP lawyer Ky Tech, who headed the legal team in the dissolution of the opposition CNRP and conviction of its former party leader Kem Sokha.
In three other gazette documents for unplanned spending, the Defense Ministry was given $2.9 million to recruit 1,495 soldiers, the Council of Ministers was given $358,400 to repair and maintain Defense Ministry helicopters and $466,400 was allocated to the Interior Ministry for food in prisons.
Local NGO Licadho reported widespread corruption in the prison system in 2015, with inmates made to pay money for access to basic needs like food, water, daylight and fresh air.
Search an index of Royal Gazette documents in Kamnotra’s Gazetteer.