Cambodia exported $250 million of research monkeys in 2022 alone. The industry's totally enmeshed with Cambodia's political elite, up to and including the family of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Scientists and US law enforcement say much of the trade is illegal.
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Jack Adamović Davies
@jackoozell
Journalist. Get in touch: jndavies@protonmail.com
jackdavies.contently.comJoined April 2021
Jack Adamović Davies’s Tweets
CHINA: Authorities in Jinjiang City, Fujian, issue notice calling residents involved in online crime in Cambodia, Golden Triangle, Myanmar & UAE to return home by 31 May. They should contact authorities in advance & surrender themselves on arrival. 1/3 sohu.com/a/675781330_12
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#Cambodia: The National Election Committee refuses to register the Candlelight Party for not attaching a verified copy of their party registration document through one window service. The Candlelight Party is the main opposition party in Cambodia.
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Birmingham City is excited to announce the following update regarding the Club’s ownership.
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Hidden camera footage has emerged showing what U.S. prosecutors say is clear involvement by a senior Cambodian official in running a research monkey smuggling operation.
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For context, here's a more in-depth report from last month examining what's been called the "incestuous" relationship between the primate industry and Cambodia's ruling elite
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Full story on the seemingly damning footage of Cambodian Forestry Administration Wildlife and Biodiversity Director Kry Masphal delivering cages of macaques to a Cambodian monkey farm here:
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The Cambodian government has repeatedly denied it has a problem with illicit monkey exports, so why can a senior wildlife official be seen here on camera advising a farm on how to make their facilities "more safe for your smuggling"?
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In April, a Taiwanese man was kidnapped, beaten and handcuffed to a bed in a Sihanoukville casino, with survival contingent on delivering his armed captors $120,000 in the next 12 days.
He shared his account w/ :
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In Cambodia, nepotism abets nepotism. Prime Minister Hun Sen is working out when to hand the reins to his eldest son after nearly 40 years of iron-fisted rule.
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Officials in #Thailand arrest man trying to smuggle #longtailedmacaques in containers across border into #Laos. 41 monkeys found alive, but three suffocated. Victims of brutal illegal trade in #monkeys, reportedly destined for laboratories or to be eaten.
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Our APAC team has been decimated amid widespread layoffs today at VICE World News. A sad day for us all, but that means some of these fantastic reporters & editors in Hong Kong, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Singapore, the Philippines, Australia & Japan are available. Hire them!
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The Cambodian government leased 29 hectares of Kep National Park to Choeung Sokuntheavy's One More company for tourism development investment. Economy Minister's wife is a board member of this company.
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A 24-year-old woman found beheaded in her rental room before dawn on Thursday in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet city.
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Hey, UK Academic Twitter! Sign this petition to allow Serbian citizens to visit the UK for up to 90 days without a visa. Think conferences, summer schools, exchange visits. 😊
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/6364
#AcademicTwitter
#AcademicChatter
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A new RFA investigation has revealed a booming and shadowy trade in Cambodian research monkeys, fueled by the coronavirus pandemic and tied to the country’s political elite. en.rfa.org/monkeybusiness
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The home Mongkol Phara and Madina Tao bought in '16 for $11 mil AUD was apparently on the market in '22 with an asking price of $38 mil AUD, thanks to what must have been one hell of a renovation: smh.com.au/property/news/
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Interesting read from & on apparent connections between a Manchester City FC sponsor and a compound linked to the Heng He group of companies in Bavet. Heng He companies have highly politically connected individuals as directors
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🇰🇭 The European Parliament today adopted a resolution on 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗮: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗲𝗺 𝗦𝗼𝗸𝗵𝗮.
The text was adopted by 496 votes in favour, 11 against and 36 abstentions. Find more details here 👉 bit.ly/3Lv0bBQ
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1. The first in my series on illegal logging in #Cambodia for and ties a senior Prisons Dept. official to a series of timber grabs dating back to 2013, but his latest concession in Stung Treng jeopardizes a newly protected forest
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BREAKING: Former CNRP president Kem Sokha has been convicted for treason and sentenced to 27 years in prison. He has been banned from politics and voting in elections indefinitely. He has not been sent to prison and will remain under court supervision for now.
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Are you a whistleblower? Send secure, anonymous tips to RFA with RFA Safe Drop.
en.rfa.org/safedrop
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Good news for
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Of the many horrible things about this week I just keep thinking about all the stories & ideas we were pursuing that now don’t have a home. If you’re an editor interested in Cambodia commissions—even just maybe!—reach out to me or & we’d love to talk
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It's an election year in Cambodia, so of course the government is finding spurious reasons to shut down one of the country's few remaining independent media outlets
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PM Hun Sen ordered the Ministry of Information to revoke VOD's license from 10 AM tomorrow. He told staff of this media outlet to find a new job.
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Hey everyone, we have some new website updates to share, but unfortunately Twitter is now blocking any tweets where we link to our site. We’ve received no notification from Twitter about this, and have reported but no response yet. , can you help?
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A correction: Sen Sovann has been in touch to say he's no longer director general of the department of animal health, but has since been promoted within the agriculture ministry to secretary of state
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A senior official from Cambodia's Agriculture Ministry has business ties to an alleged monkey smuggler. The official oversees the department that issues health certificates to monkeys prior to export. My latest:
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In a Phnom Penh neighborhood, police in civilian clothes—faces covered w/masks & helmets—arrest ppl at least 3x/week, plant meth on them & extort them for $1000s as Cambodia "cracks down" on drugs, residents say. This week they fought back. W/
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Turns out Cambodia gave citizenship to fugitive Thai politician Vatana Asavahame & his wife, who directs a holding company linked to the Poipet casino which burned down last week. Ly Yong Phat is a business partner tied to the casino.
W/:
cambojanews.com/thai-fugitive-
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Authorities declared rescue operations at Poipet's Grand Diamond City casino complete last night, but Keo Vandy still waited for news of her husband, who remained missing after the fire.
She believes he survived: "I'll find him."
w/@SreypichSovan:
cambojanews.com/after-deadly-c
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I also asked if they were concerned re the EFL investigation into Wang Yaohui aka the elusive Mr King
The company were quick to say that it’s down to shareholders to disclose things properly and that they couldn’t comment further.
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"Khmer Rouge Incorporated": this is a work-in-progress post on the story of the Khmer Rouge's use of an offshore limited liability company in (then) British-controlled Hong Kong, and the fate of some of the corporate directors.
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Buried at the bottom here, because it happened just as we were about to publish: Kry Masphal has been released into custody of Cambodian embassy for Christmas weekend, to be placed on house arrest next week with Virginia family to be compensated by embassy.
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In August this year, Cambodia's then-Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon flew to Seoul to sign an MoU with a company being investigated as part of US probe into Cambodian monkey smuggling. Veng's in the middle, the company's CEO is in the red tie.
rfa.org/english/news/c
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In August this year, Cambodia's then-Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon flew to Seoul to sign an MoU with a company being investigated as part of US probe into Cambodian monkey smuggling. Veng's in the middle, the company's CEO is in the red tie.
rfa.org/english/news/c
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Really great piece on what brought about the recent spike in macaque exports from Cambodia and how a recent crackdown just scratches the surface of the trade’s illegal dealings. By
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Chhang Song was a unique figure in modern Cambodia. A wartime information minister who lobbied in DC, brought hundreds of families to America, made a brief postwar political comeback...and kept writing until he died. I wrote about his life for
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US prosecutors claim they have video evidence of Cambodian Forestry Administration official Kry Masphal taking part in monkey smuggling. They're also not convinced the Cambodian government won't try to help Kry flee the country ahead of his trial:
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The #IsleofMan remains under MONEYVAL’s enhanced follow-up procedure and is expected to report back in three years’ time. Via
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The prime minister’s son Hun Manith has been given an additional rank equivalent to minister, adding to his existing duties as the head of military intelligence.
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To the concern of conservationists, Cambodia's Environment Ministry is circulating draft law changes that, if passed, would allow game hunting in wildlife sanctuaries
