Cambodian court orders Chinese woman deported for desecrating pictures of late king

(Siv Channa/ Associated Press ) - In this photo taken Monday, Oct. 22, 2012, Wang Zia Chao, 43, a Chinese factory supervisor, is escorted by Cambodian police officers after being detained, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Wang who caused an uproar by tearing up a poster of Cambodia’s late King Norodom Sihanouk, was transferred Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 to a city court where she could face formal charges for insulting the monarchy and inciting public disorder. Wang had accused garment industry employees of shirking work during a week of official mourning for Sihanouk. When she seized the portrait from one worker before a shift and destroyed it, more than 1,000 irate workers protested Monday, eventually marching to the Royal Palace to demand she be punished.

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By Associated Press

Updated: Wednesday, October 24, 2012

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A Cambodian court found a Chinese factory supervisor guilty on Tuesday of desecrating pictures of the country’s recently deceased former king and ordered her deported.

The court found Wang Zia Chao guilty of violating statutes on insulting the monarchy and gave her a one-year suspended jail sentence and a 2.5 million riel ($620) fine.

She was also ordered to pay 2 million riel ($500) in compensation to a worker at the factory who had demanded her prosecution.

The case appeared to be the first in recent decades in which the vaguely worded lese majeste law was applied.

The 43-year-old Chinese woman caused an uproar Monday at a garment factory complex in Phnom Penh’s outskirts when she cut up two photos of former King Norodom Sihanouk that workers were carrying before the morning shift. She accused them of shirking work.

Sihanouk, who led Cambodia through peace and war, died Oct. 15 in Beijing at age 89. His body was returned last Wednesday to his homeland, where it was taken to the Royal Palace for a week of official mourning.

The factory supervisor told the court Tuesday that she did not know the photos were of the late monarch. “If I knew, I would not have ripped them up,” she said.

More than 1,000 outraged workers marched Monday to the palace to demand she be punished, The factories’ managers fired her and turned her over to the authorities.

Phnom Penh police chief Lt. Gen. Chuon Sovann said Monday that if police had not arrived on time, the woman would have been in danger of being physically attacked by the workers.

The case touched some sensitive nerves. Foreign investors are a key element in Cambodia’s economic growth, while workers represent a potentially powerful domestic political force.

Garment exports are Cambodia’s major foreign exchange earner, and as many as 400,000 people work in hundreds of factories in the Phnom Penh area.

The government tries to strike a balance between workers’ demands for higher pay and employers’ desires to keep wages low. Many factories are subcontractors for large Western brands. The factories involved in Monday’s incident produce trousers for U.S. and European markets.

There has been an outpouring of grief for the late king, who since abdicating in favor of his son Norodom Sihamoni in 2004 spent much of his last years in China for medical treatment. Although Prime Minister Hun Sen’s relations with Sihanouk were cool at best, he has taken care to arrange the proper ceremonies and show his respect.

China’s government was a steadfast friend of the late monarch, and it arranged the plane on which his body was returned.

The Chinese official news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday that Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei in Beijing called the factory supervisor “wrong” in her actions.
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Cambodia to deport Chinese for insulting late king

By SOPHENG CHEANG, Associated Press –  PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court found a Chinese factory supervisor guilty on Tuesday of desecrating pictures of the country's recently deceased former king and ordered her deported.

The court found Wang Zia Chao guilty of violating statutes on insulting the monarchy and gave her a one-year suspended jail sentence and a 2.5 million riel ($620) fine.

She was also ordered to pay 2 million riel ($500) in compensation to a worker at the factory who had demanded her prosecution.

The case appeared to be the first in recent decades in which the vaguely worded lese majeste law was applied.

The 43-year-old Chinese woman caused an uproar Monday at a garment factory complex in Phnom Penh's outskirts when she cut up two photos of former King Norodom Sihanouk that workers were carrying before the morning shift. She accused them of shirking work.

Sihanouk, who led Cambodia through peace and war, died Oct. 15 in Beijing at age 89. His body was returned last Wednesday to his homeland, where it was taken to the Royal Palace for a week of official mourning.

The factory supervisor told the court Tuesday that she did not know the photos were of the late monarch. "If I knew, I would not have ripped them up," she said.

More than 1,000 outraged workers marched Monday to the palace to demand she be punished, The factories' managers fired her and turned her over to the authorities.

Phnom Penh police chief Lt. Gen. Chuon Sovann said Monday that if police had not arrived on time, the woman would have been in danger of being physically attacked by the workers.

The case touched some sensitive nerves. Foreign investors are a key element in Cambodia's economic growth, while workers represent a potentially powerful domestic political force.

Garment exports are Cambodia's major foreign exchange earner, and as many as 400,000 people work in hundreds of factories in the Phnom Penh area.

The government tries to strike a balance between workers' demands for higher pay and employers' desires to keep wages low. Many factories are subcontractors for large Western brands. The factories involved in Monday's incident produce trousers for U.S. and European markets.

There has been an outpouring of grief for the late king, who since abdicating in favor of his son Norodom Sihamoni in 2004 spent much of his last years in China for medical treatment. Although Prime Minister Hun Sen's relations with Sihanouk were cool at best, he has taken care to arrange the proper ceremonies and show his respect.

China's government was a steadfast friend of the late monarch, and it arranged the plane on which his body was returned.

The Chinese official news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday that Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei in Beijing called the factory supervisor "wrong" in her actions.