A screenshot of a video showing a group of youths "pulling wheelies" on their motorcycles in Kampong Speu's Basedth district. The suspects were arrested on July 5. Kampong Speu Police
The new governor of Kampong Speu, Cheam Chan Sophorn, was surprised to learn that there were almost 70 youth gangs in the province, after which he instructed the provincial and military police to immediately plan a crackdown.
In a July 16 video of a meeting with local civil servants in Samrong Tong district posted on his social media, the provincial governor cited a report to Prime Minister Hun Manet on the state of the provincial administration over the past six months, which stated that there were up to 68 gangs based there.
“It is a lot of them. If we estimate that each gang has 10 members, that’s up to 680 members ... If we know where they are, we have to take action. Do not ignore it. No matter how much force is needed, we must crack down. These delinquents are easy to deal with,” Chan Sophorn said.
He mentioned that gang problems are easier to handle than drugs and gambling because gang activity, such as racing motorcycles or chasing and fighting each other, is more visible.
“We have to do this work. Out of those 68 groups, I think there might be a few in our [own district]. If so, the district governor should arrange an emergency meeting with our forces to clean them up,” he instructed.
Chan Sophorn also instructed the provincial and military police and regional soldiers to create a plan to target the gangs, as some of their identities are already known.
Deputy provincial police chief Ros Ratha said that some of the gangs had members who left one group to join another, making it difficult to determine their exact number.
He noted that some gangs have two or three members, while others have many more.
He said the gangs often call their groups by names such as GM, GK or VP, adding that most of them cause violence and intentionally damage property, ride motorcycles recklessly and install noisy exhausts.
“We have been cracking down continuously. Following the recommendation from [Manet], their numbers have been declining because we continue to punish them without hesitation,” he said.
He also mentioned that when gang members are arrested, they must be sent to court if they caused violence, intentional damage or possess weapons. However, if the offenses are not serious, they will be educated and sent home.
In May, the prime minister ordered all capital-provincial governors and relevant authorities to clamp down on gangs to protect public order and social security.
Within 47 days, from May 23 to July 9, the capital and provincial courts handled 297 cases involving gang members, with 1,616 suspects having been processed, according to the Justice Ministry.
