PM puts fake Hun Sen FB accounts on notice

PM puts fake Hun Sen FB accounts on notice

Thu, 19 November 2015

Pech Sotheary

Prime Minister Hun Sen talks during a public appearance earlier this month in Phnom Penh. Heng Chivoan

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NB: Eh? Now what...?!

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Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday took to the unruly world of social media in an effort to impose some order, at least where his own name is concerned.

In a post on his official Facebook page yesterday, the premier threatened legal action against social-media pranksters who operate fake “Hun Sen” profiles peppered with unsavoury content like pornographic images, saying such profiles damage his reputation as head of government.

“The people who are using the fake account/profile of Samdech Techo [Hun Sen], the prime minister, for serving terrible purposes without permission will face the law. Those users must delete/deactivate those accounts/profiles immediately,” he posted.

The post was accompanied by a graphic urging users to report fake Hun Sen profiles to cppparty@gmail.com.

Somewhat ironically, the government has insisted on multiple occasions in the past that Hun Sen’s current Facebook page was not linked to him in any way.

It was only confirmed to be the premier’s official page in September.

Cabinet official and government attorney Pal Chandara said that the cabinet is searching for the operators of the fake accounts but could not say what punishment such people might face.

“We have to search for and identify who is the suspect first so that we can punish them later,” he said.

Prominent attorney and human rights advocate Sok Sam Oeun said there was no law forbidding the creation of spurious Facebook accounts, though users who seek to ruin others’ reputations could face defamation charges.