Cambodian PM bans cockfighting nationwide

Mr. Sok An talking to the press.

PHNOM PENH, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has outlawed cockfighting across the country, in his latest efforts to prohibit various gambling activities, national media said on Wednesday.

"I am announcing today the closure of all cockfighting arenas, including the cockfighting arena of (Deputy Prime Minister) Sok An in Bati district of Takeo (province)," Chinese-language daily newspaper the Commercial News quoted him as telling a road inauguration ceremony in Sihanouk province on Tuesday.

Sok An, a well-known cockfighting aficionado, used to keep the arena in Takeo for fun and gambling.

"It is said that Sok An opened a cockfighting arena. (If) the deputy prime minister can indulge in cockfighting, then why can't others? Now, I am ordering Sok An, do you hear? I tell (you) to close the Tonle Bati (arena), or I will bring in armed forces to surround it," he added.

The crackdown on cockfighting followed Hun Sen's earlier ban on slot machines, sports betting and all other forms of gambling in a reputed bid to reverse a decline in social morality.

Editor: Zhang Xiang