An Open Letter to:
UK Foreign Secretary, Mr Phillip
Hammond
Alan Haselhurst
Debbie Chisolm
Joanna Roper
Sue Bennett
Connor Doherty
Richard Seedhouse,
Mark Kent
Julian Blewett
Ray Keen
Nigel Eustace
Michael Hancock
Liz Moriarty
Deborah King
Laura Thorne
LICADHO
ADHOC
Cambodia Daily
Phnom Penh Post
Steve Morrish
Thierry Darnaudet
Samleang Seila
Scott Neeson
I have, this past few months written
all of you in relation to the case of Mr David John Fletcher – found guilty in
a secret trial that he only discovered had occurred after the verdict was
announced.
As you all know, Mr Fletcher received
a 10 year jail sentence for having raped Yang Dany – a young woman who not only
denies that any rape took place but who was found to be a virgin by the court-appointed
who examined her.
As you all know, since his arrest in
June 2010 Mr Fletcher has never been interviewed by the Cambodian police in
relation to these charges. He has never been interviewed by an Investigating
Judge. He has never been given the opportunity to present a defense in court or
to call witnesses.
These are facts about which there can
be no dispute.
Is there any one of you who would be
prepared to declare, in public, that Mr
Fletcher is entitled to be tried in accordance with the Cambodian Code of
Criminal Procedure in relation to the charge that, in March 2009, he raped Yang
Dany?
best wishes
James Ricketson
Is there a decent person among them?
ReplyDeleteAPLE's founder Thierry Darnaudet and APLE's Director of Deceit Seila Samleang are definitely not among those that deserve to be called decent people.
DeleteLICADHO and ADHOC are decent organizations, because they're NGOs and NGOs are good people. That's because they're doing good things for Cambodian people.
Steve Morrish is a decent person, at least that's what he says about himself. And he runs an NGO too! And NGOs are good people, because they're doing good things for Cambodian people.
But let's wait and give them a final chance to respond with their full name in a comment on this blog before we judge and decide who deserves to be called a decent person and who's a crook.
And Scott Neeson is not a decent person for his inappropriate behavior (touching and hugging) towards underage girls.
Deletehttps://www.google.com.kh/search?q=scott+neeson&tbm=isch
https://www.google.com.kh/search?q=scott+neeson+family&tbm=isch
And Scott Neeson just used the corrupt NGO Action pour les Enfants to eliminate innocent Davis Fletcher, who was probably in the way of Scott's business expansion plans, knowing that David is innocent and knowing how corrupt APLE is.
FREE DAVID FLETCHER!
ReplyDeleteFree David Fletcher. Free Giuseppe Nicolosi and free Matthew Harland!
ReplyDeleteThese people are all victims of the evil called Action pour les Enfants (APLE) and those who use APLE as a tool to eliminate people that are in their evil way.
Before we can find justice for them, we must first eliminate the evil itself.
We're working on it, but fighting true evil takes a lot of time and demands a lot of patience.
Mr. Ricketson has contacted numerous times the individuals and organizations, to whom this letter is directed. He has provided verifiable facts that prove David Fletcher did not rape Yang Dany, and he has requested their assistance in obtaining a "real" and fair trial for him. Any decent, intelligent person with a conscience would offer whatever assistance they could. Hopefully, those contacted will give serious consideration to the fact that their reluctance to get involved is ruining the life of an innocent man. They still have a chance to show their decency, but they need to do it NOW.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteSome comments are not posted directly but arrive in my email inbox.
In some cases, those making comments are fearful that their comments will be traced back to their IP address and lead to retribution.
"Mr Ricketson
I am one of those on you list and I believe that Mr Fletcher is entitled to a fair trial. I cannot say so publicly, however, as I would lose my job. None of those on this list will come out in public and say that Mr Fletcher deserves a fair trial. Not because they don’t believe he is entitled to one (those on the list I know, do) but because they would find themselves ostracized by all those on the list who are implicated in the miscarriage of justice they have been a party to.
Most on your list are already compromised. They have either turned the other way and pretended that there is no problem here (‘Hey, Fletcher is just a man and all men are rapists’) or they have been paid off by APLE for their silence. Why does Licadho remain silent? Is it just that Naly Polorge was one of the founders of APLE? Or is Ms Pilorge still on the APLE payroll? Who is going to ask this question? No-one.
The fact is if you are a man accused of a sex crime in Cambodia you must be guilty. And even if the evidence proves you are not you must be found guilty because all of those with a vested interest in your guilt (many of whom are to be found on this list) would be revealed for the frauds they are if you were proven innocent.
I am sorry that I must remain anonymous but the implications for me of speaking out would be disastrous. I admire what you are doing but you are up against a very rich juggernaut that will ultimately use its huge reserves of cash to pay off whoever needs to be paid off to prevent the truth emerging. I now that it is no consolation to David Fletcher but he should not take this personally. He is just a pawn in a game with a lot of rich and powerful players with money on the board. The only way he is going to get out of jail is if he can match these players and offer more money to be found innocent than they are paying to see him found guilty."
I would like to add to this that I have, in fact, asked both Naly Pilorge and Dr Kek Pung if either Naly or LICADHO is in receipt of money from APLE. They do not respond.
Regardless of whether or not Naly/LOICADHO is in receipt of funds from APLE the fact remains that LICADHO and APLE work together. Closely. This renders it impossible for LICADHO, as a human rights organisation, to investigate APLE - even when, as is the case with David Fletcher, there is overwhelming evidence of APLE having abused the legal and human rights of David Fletcher.
Praying this evil unjust system be exposed to the masses, and may the Lord have mercy on David and come to his rescue, and deliver him from these crooks and give him the fair trial he deserves. May the Lord put righteous judges in his path, and those that continue to do evil against David Fletcher, may the evil come back on their own heads. What a wicked world we live in!
ReplyDeleteI can understand people who live and work in Cambodia being too fearful and intimidated to speak up since they are in the midst of the vast corruption. I know one person who is not involved in the corruption, but he will not speak in Mr. Fletcher's behalf because he fears for his family. Although there appears to have been some complicity on the part of some British Embassy personnel, especially in Bangkok, I cannot understand why British officials refuse any help for a British citizen when they know he is imprisoned for a crime he could not possibly have committed.
ReplyDeleteYes, I too can well understand why anyone living in Cambodia would be fearful about speaking out. I know of one such person who wishes to say what s/he knows (from first hand experience) but doe snot wants to go to jail. His/her fear is that as a result of complicity in one APLE scam s/he cold be charged if s/he tells the truth. I have three times offered to LICADHO to meet with this person but my offers have been ignored. LICADHO does not want to be confronted with any evidence that might reveal that its partner, APLE, engages in making financial offers to familes to lay false charges of sexual assault against men that APLE wishes to see charged. Interestingly, whilst there are many stories of $5,000 being offered to families, I have yet to hear of one case in which the family actually received the $5,000.
DeleteAs for the UK's Foreign & Commonwealth Office I think its refusal to help Fletcher in any way, indeed its destruction of evidence of his innocence (his passport) has less to do with malevolence than with sheer bureaucratic incompetence. Hogan started the rumour mill. Neeson picked up the ball and ran with it. Drummond, smelling a hot story, published a defamatory article, Kheang Sekun was told that she could get $30,000 compensation if she told the Cambodian police that Fletcher had raped her daughter and the British embassies in both Cambodia and Thailand went along for the ride. ANd once on board, there was no way to get off without admitting to having made mistake. This was the option open to Ambassador Mark Kent when he realised that Fletcher was not in Cambodia at the time of the alleged rapes. Rather than admit to having made a mistake, Ambassador Kent (or someone acting on his behalf within the Thai British Embassy) had the passport destroyed. There was still one problem, however! Yang Dany was a virgin; her hymen was intact. Regardless of whether or not Fletcher was in Cambodia in March 2009, he could not have raped her. Through CEOP the British embassies of Cambodia and Thailand knew this. They knew Fletcher was, in all likelihood, innocent but preferred to keep quiet about it.
In the meantime, back in Cambodia, those who had invested so much time and energy in nailing Fletcher were confronted with a problem - Yang Dany's virginity. What to do? The answer was simple - hold a secret trial. Don't tell Fletcher the trial is on until the verdict is announced.
There was still a problem, however. The judges had the report in which the examining doctor declared that Yang Dany was a virgin. How and why the judges decided that Dany's hymen must have grown back I will leave to the imagination of readers.
So, no conspiracy on the part of the FCO other than the conspiracy of silence and, now, the decision made by Foreign Minister Phillip Hammond to make it next to impossible for Mr Fletcher, with my assistance, to obtain documents through FOI that he could use to prove his innocence in court - if ever he were given a fair trial.
The FCO wold rather see David Fletcher die in jail than admit to the huge cock up that has taken place. Such an admission would see lots of egg on lots of faces and the FCO, collectively, is doing all it can to prevent this from happening.
Follow the money. Always follow the money!
DeleteMr. Ricketson, I admire you so much for having the balls to single-handedly take on the evil, corrupt individuals and organizations in Cambodia. You are to be commended for your attempts to provide justice for Mr. Fletcher after becoming aware of his plight only a few months ago. I, too, can understand the intimidation of the people in Cambodia in not speaking against the corruption: however, that means they will have to continue cowering. People have to stand up to corruption to end it. I wish you well in your valiant efforts to accomplish a better life for the people of Cambodia, and I hope Mr. Fletcher gets the justice he deserves.
ReplyDeleteWOW 7:11, you are so right!!
DeleteWhat pathetic, pitiful pieces of crap. People that should be leaders, espousing the best in humanity! They would call this leadership? Let's not forget the un-named Chad Williams and Chris Dawe of the NOT illustrious Phnom Penh Post!!
ReplyDeleteFollow the money. Always follow the money.
DeleteOne of the problems inherent in writing a blog such as this is getting accurate information from NGOs. Indeed, any information at all! There is not one that I have asked questions of in relation to David Fletcher prepared to answer them. Some even go so far, anonymously, to accuse me of ‘defaming’ them when I ask questions! And, of course, using a variety of unpleasant epithets to describe me.
ReplyDeleteSo, I am reliant at times on information presented on this blog (anonymously) and on information passed on to me by a variety of sources – some reliable and some less than reliable. Since NGOs will neither confirm nor deny anything I have to use my own judgment in deciding what may be a fact worth pursuing, what may be a red herring and what may be downright untrue.
A week or so ago someone made an observation about SISHA now being funded by the Cambodian Children’s Fund. As I was unable to get either confirmation or a denial of this fact I did some research and, as far as I can tell, there is no truth to it. The Cambodian Children’s Fund is not funding SISHA.
If any readers of this blog identify any other ‘rumours’ that are blatantly untrue please notify me – either on this blog or by email.
A little more detail than ‘bullshit’, or 'you're a fucking moron' would be preferred!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteThank you Mr. Steve Morrish. Thank you for breaking the silence and being among the first from the list to acknowledge that David Fletcher deserves a proper re-trial.
DeleteWould you also agree that in the light of this it's necessary to expose those who're complicit in setting him up in the first place and those who actively obstructed Fletcher from getting a fair trial?
And while you're commenting on the above question, do you think that APLE's practice of following suspects and wait until a crime actually occurs is ethically correct?
If so, wouldn't you agree that as a result of being donor dependent, APLE's modes operandi creates an open invitation to corruption? If not, would you be so kind to express that.
Is SISHA using similar methods to 'protect' children?
On the SISHA's Facebook page of January 8 you're announcing the recent Channel Asia documentary as "Video showing pedophiles abusing children". That's indeed what most of the video was about.
But shouldn't it say "Video showing how we prevent sexual abuse of children"?
Further, wouldn't you agree that protecting children by preventing abuse should have a higher priority than busting alleged pedophiles?
Thanks in advance!
I had my doubts about the veracity of the comment left by 'Steve Morrish' and so wrote the following to him:
Delete"Dear Steve
A comment has appeared on my blog that purports to have been written by you. It does not ring entirely true to me and I wonder if you could confirm that you wrote it or that you did not?
Steve Morrish 'Sisha'February 1, 2015 at 5:22 AM
Thank you, James, for correcting this error. For the record I think David Fletcher should be allowed a proper re-trial"
Steve wrote back to me:
"James - that is not me. I dont read or comment on any blogs. I would appreciate it if you could remove that entry and also make a statement on your blog telling people that it wasn’t me. I certainly hope you dont allow such irresponsible behaviour to continue from your readers, some of which, judging by whoever has written that entry, clearly is suffering from a lack of IQ.
Regards
Steve"
I wrote back to Steve:
"Steve
I will remove the comment from my blog.
There are some rascals who leave comments in order to stir up trouble and to abuse me in the hopes that I will fight back.
I find it more than a little absurd that you should refer to comments on my blog as 'irresponsible' when SISHA published a defamatory press release in June 2010 which, in combination with Scott Neeson's comments about 'grooming young girls' and Peter Hogan's scuttlebutt on Khmer440, pretty much destroyed any chance Mr Fletcher had of being presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of public opinion.
And I must say that I find it disquieting that you that you, as a former law enforcement officer, sworn to uphold the law in Australia, cannot come out and say, "I believe that Mr David Fletcher is entitled to be tried in accordance with the Cambodian Code of Criminal procedure - a right he has clearly been denied this past four and a half years."
The right to a fair trial has been, and quite rightly so, extended to men and women accused of Khmer Rouge genocide but it is a right that you do not believe should to be extended to Mr Fletcher!
Astounding.
cheers
Is there not one person on this list who believes David Fletcher is entitled to a fair trial?
ReplyDeleteThe idea that I accused David Fletcher of grooming young girls because I saw him as a ‘competitor’ in the old Phnom Penh rubbish dump is laughable. I thought his approach was amateurish but that is all. I did tell Andrew Drummond that various different organizations investigating Mr Fletcher had told me that it was well known around Steung Meanchey that he was grooming young girls. Unfortunately Mr Drummond misquoted me. I don’t know if he was or wasn’t. I have no opinion on the case but think that Mr Fletcher should be given a fair trial.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pathetic pansy ass statement. Amateurish because he was helping children in their homes? NOT taking over 700 children from their families as you have done Neeson? What a POS!!
DeleteIs this the best you can do Mr Neeson? After four years of silence on the question of Mr Fletcher's 'grooming' of young girls? This is not an apology but a passing of the buck to Andrew Drummond and in no way exonerates you from the charge of having defamed Mr Fletcher. I wonder if Gina Rinehart knows what a snake in the grass you are?
DeleteThank you Mr. Scott Neeson. Thank you for breaking the silence and being the first from the list to acknowledge that David Fletcher deserves a fair trial.
DeleteWould you also agree that in the light of this it's necessary to expose those who're complicit in setting him up in the first place and those who actively obstructed Fletcher from getting a fair trial?
If so, would you be so kind to tell us who initiated the investigation into Fletcher and which organisations told you that Fletcher was "grooming young girls"?
And while you're commenting on the above questions, do you think that APLE's practice of following suspects and wait until a crime actually occurs is ethically correct?
If so, wouldn't you agree that as a result of being donor dependent, APLE's modes operandi creates an open invitation to corruption? If not, would you be so kind to express that.
Further, wouldn't you agree that protecting children and preventing abuse must have a higher priority than busting alleged pedophiles?
Thanks in advance!
Just as I had my doubts about the veracity of the comment left by Steve Morrish, so too did I have my doubts about Scott Neeson's comment. I wrote the following to Scott early today:
Delete"Dear Scott
A comment has appeared on my blog that purports to have been made by you. I have my doubts. Is it?
Since you refuse, as a matter of principle, to answer any questions at all from me (or from any other journalists), I had no way of finding out than through my own research whether or not the Cambodian Children’s Fund has entered into a working partnership with Steve Morrish’s SISHA.
Reliable sources within CCF assure me that this is not the case. CCF is not funding SISHA. I have indicated as much on my blog, to correct what appears to be a false statement made by an anonymous contributor.
These same sources within CCF tell me that you are in the process of forming a working relationship with Gina Rinehart, Australian billionaire, to contribute funds to CCF. Is this so?
best wishes"
I have not received any response from Scott to date.
I can only imagine how Mr. Fletcher must feel to be abandoned by his own country. I am an American, and I would be devastated if my government refused to help me in a situation like his. I believe that would not happen since I am aware of the US Government obtaining the release of wrongly imprisoned US citizens from various countries. I would have expected the British Government to do the same. The statement of the British Embassy personnel that they could not interfere with the action by another country is rubbish. Perhaps they couldn't, but the matter could have been referred to higher officials in London who could have helped. It is possible that they did and received no better response than you have received. SHAME ON THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT!!!
ReplyDeleteI take it, Mr Ricketson, that other than Scott Neeson and Steve Morrish none of the others on your list has responded in any way to your letter?
ReplyDeleteNeeson took media claims to have saved Dany the girl at the forefront of Fletchers case. This very girl has since been sold into China . each and everyone of you greasy palmed NGO's run and hide like dirty rats when the heat is on . and being part of the lowest scum in the world - human trafficking
ReplyDeleteA fair trial.
ReplyDeleteALL of you conveniently forget what Dany has consistently stated in numerous interviews (some that were translated some that were not.) That FLETCHER got her in his room, locked the door undressed her and started kissing her and fondling her AGAINST her will to a point she was in tears and ran from the room in distress. When Fletcher was confronted by another male who witnessed the distressed Dany his comment was ”she was his girlfriend” so that makes it ok? A young, vulnerable, frightened girl. Even if she was his girlfriend what gives Fletcher the right to Assault her. Yes assault his actions at worst amount to Indecent assault of a minor. NOT once has this fact been properly detailed in this ridiculous blog. Rape and Attempted rape in Cambodia is the same charge but again who would think at looking at the laws here.
Investigative journalist you must be joking.
Was Fletcher grooming children, I suggest a strong inference could be drawn that Fletcher used the garbage dump to groom young uneducated impoverished girls to his bar to Indecently Assault and to use the excuse she was his girlfriend is pathetic. He has used this method previously. Oh but it was ONLY statutory rape of a 15yr old who was his girlfriend hummm sound familiar, but wait didn’t he use alcohol and take pictures of his conquest. Maybe you should question the person your defending Mr Ricketson and get all the facts.
Anonymous 4.44
DeleteLike so many who past anonymous comments you are not going to let the facts get in the way of a good story, are you? Let's go through your comment point by point. But let me preface this by saying that it is not up to you or me to judge the guilt or innocence of David Fletcher. It is the role of a properly constituted court.
(1) "A fair trial".
There has been no trial, period, that comes anywhere close to adhering to the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure. The so called 'trial' held in 2001 was conducted in secret. Mr Fletcher did not know about it until after a verdict was announced. He was in Thailand, in jail;, awaiting deportation, so would not have been able to attend the trial even if he had been informed of it.
Why do you think the 'trial' was held before David Fletcher arrived back in Cambodia?
(2) As to Yang Dany's statements about Fletcher these are so many and varied that I do not pretend to know where the truth lies. However, it is a fact beyond dispute that Yan Dany's hymen was intact after the so-called 'brutal rapes'. This is even acknowledged by the judges that found Mr Fletcher guilty in absentia.
It could be argued in court, with expert witnesses, that a woman's hymen can remain intact after two rapes.Fair enough. Argue it in court. Let the prosecution call its expert witness in support of the proposition that a woman's hymen can grow back. And let the defence call its own expert witness to argue against this proposition.
If, in a proper court case, in which evidence was produced and cross-examination allowed, Me Fletcher was found guilty of sexual assault he should be sentenced accordingly. This is not what happened. He was found guilty of a rape that it is virtually impossible to have occurred from a physiological point of view.
In a properly constituted court Yang Dany's various versions of the truth could be aired. Was she Mr Fletcher's 'girlfriend', 'fiance' and 'a good man on 20th June 2010 or was he, as she was claiming one week later (after her mother had been told there was $30,000 in it for her) a man who had raped her 15 months earlier? A rape that it had not occurred Yang Dany to tell any of the four organisations that had been investigating him for two years - CEOP, APLE, SISHA and the Anti Human Trafficking Unit?
(3) Are you aware that your reference to "a strong inference" could be just as easily applied to Scott Neeson and to any NGO working with disadvantaged children? Do you think it appropriate to send a person to jail on the basis of a 'strong inference'?
Here, you are reflecting the attitude of many NGOs in Cambodia. A 'strong inference' is enough to convict a man. Evidence and facts are not really necessary.
(4) Mr Fletcher's statutory rape. Like so many other NGOs, you are presuming that his consensual sex with an underage girl lat last century is evidence that he must be guilty of rape 12 years later. Whilst you can make this 'strong inference' this is not the way the law works. Or the way the law should work.
Yes, by his own admission, by the girl's own admission and as was made clear by the judge, sex acts between Fletcher and the young woman were filmed. Regardless of what you and I may think about the young woman and David Fletcher deciding to film their consensual sex acts, this has nothing to do with whether or not he raped Yang Dany. This is what he was charged with. What you wish to find him guilty of, and clearly do find him guilty of, is a crime for which he has already been punished (statutory rape in 1998) and you 'strong inference' that any man working with impoverished children is probably doing so in order to sexually abuse them.
As I have said all along, Mr Fletcher is entitled to be tried on the basis of facts and evidence, not on the basis of yours or anyone else's gut feelings.
Great response Anonymous above. Its very easy for Ricketson to deflect anything that paints Fletcher in a bad light.
DeleteRicketson, if you were such a great investigative journalist you would of researched the process of how child protection NGO's must act under their MOU.
I was given one last week by a child protection NGO that you are listing as part of a global conspiracy and I have studied it and have been informed that all NGO's must do the same. The MOU clearly states that NGO's have no jurisdictional power in Cambodia. They can only investigative and collect information/evidence and this information/evidence must be submitted to the appropriate police agency. The police agency must then reinvestigate the information/evidence provided by the NGO and if found to be correct or at least that the suspect has a case to answer according to the police then the police will present this information to the prosecutor.
Seeing that you know how judicial process works in Cambodia, you would know that the prosecutor controls the prosecution process in Cambodia. It is he/she who determines if the case will go forward and whether or not warrants should be issued. It is the prosecutor who tells police if they should collect more evidence or if the submitted evidence is sufficient. It is the prosecutor who interviews witnesses and victims. It is the prosecutor who drives the case, not the NGO's!
All cases involving sex offenders that have had initial information presented to the police by NGO's has been re-investigated by Cambodian Police, it has been submitted to the prosecutor and the prosecutor has interviewed witnesses and victims before presenting the case for trial. The judge has then heard the evidence and passed judgement.
So taking in judicial process, why aren't you standing outside the Ministry of Justice or the Courts waving a 'Free David Fletcher' banner, as the only ones who can give him another trial are those entities, not the NGO's.
Dear Anonymous 7.39
DeleteGoing through your comment point by point:
(1) In what way have I 'deflected' anything 'that paints Fletcher in a bad light'? Give me one example.
(2) There is a world of difference, as you must surely know, between what an MOU gives an NGO the right to do and what actually occurs in reality.
(3) Where have I ever presented the proposition that there is a 'global conspiracy'?
(4) 'NGOs have no jurisdictional power in Cambodia.' In theory, yes, but there are so many examples in which this is quite clearly not the way things work in reality. I will mention only one here and try to keep it as simple as possible:
In Oct 2014 three judges from the Phnom Penh Municipal Court agreed to allow Mr Fletcher a 're-trial'.
Three weeks later, in court, the APLE lawyer representing the defendant, Yang Dany (whom APLE had arranged to go to China) requested that Mr Fletcher be denied a 're-trial' on the grounds that certain court documents had not been lodged in time.
After a 15 minute break, the judges came back into the court to read a very long document, clearly written before the day's proceedings began, explaining that Mr Fletcher was not entitled to a 're-trial' on the grounds that he had not submitted certain documents to the court on time.
Mr Fletcher tried to present to the judges a letter from the Governor of the prison in which it was explained it was his fault, not Mr Fletcher's that the documents were not presented in time. The judges refused to look at this evidence.
Do you really believe that APLE played no role in Mr Fletcher's being denied a re-trial?
(5) Are you familiar with the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure? If so you would know that pretty well every part of the Code has been breached in Mr Fletcher's case.
I will, below, publish the complete statement that Mr Fletcher would have presented to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court if his re-trial had taken place, as promised.
David Fletcher has never, to this day, been interviewed by the police or an Investigating judge.
(6) Why am I not waving a 'Free David Fletcher' banner? A stupid question but I'll answer it anyway: All I have ever done here on this blog is advocate on behalf of Mr Fletcher's right to a fair trial. In the process of doing so I have sought out as much evidence as I can - as is the job of any journalist. This evidence includes all the court files relating to Mr Fletcher's case - including the 9 page doctor's report declaring Yang Dany to be a virgin.
(7) You are correct in your assertion that NGOs cannot grant Mr Fletcher a fair trial. However, NGOs such as LICADHO and ADHOC are funded to, at the very least, be advocates for the human and legal rights of all who appear before Cambodian courts. If all the NGOs that receive funding for human rights-oriented activities in Cambodia were to say, "David Fletcher deserves a fair trial," this may have no effect at all - just as the countless reports written by these same human rights NGOs have little or no effect on the way in which the Cambodian judiciary is used to silence dissent and to intimidate into submission all those who stand up to the Cambodian government.
As for advocating to the Minister for Justice that Mr Fletcher be granted a fair trial, I have written two letters to this effect. The Minister's response was to send a representative of his ministry to the prison in which Mr Fletcher is incarcerated to speak with him.
,
David Fletcher’s statement to the court of 20th Nov that the judges refused to allow him to present to the court. (Part One)
DeleteYour Honours
I apologize that this document is written and spoken in English but owing to my being jail it has not been possible for me to have it translated into Khmer.
Article 44. Opening of Judicial Investigation
“In the case of a felony, the Prosecutor shall open a judicial investigation. The judicial investigation shall be based upon the initial submission provided to the investigating judge. The initial submission (to be prepared by the Prosecutor) includes: A summary of the facts…. The initial submission shall be dated and signed. These formalities shall be strictly complied with or the initial submission shall be void.”
I was not provided with a signed and dated summary of the facts before my trial?
Article 93. Interrogation Records
“For each interrogation, a written record shall be established. The written record shall be an accurate account of the interrogated person’s responses. The interrogated person shall sign or affix his finger-print to each page of the written record.”
I was not provided with copies of signed statements by Yang Dany and her mother Kheang Sekun?
Article 124. Introductory Submissions
“In compliance with Article 44 (Commencement of Judicial Investigation) of this Code, a judicial investigation is opened by the introductory submission of the Royal Prosecutor….An investigating judge may not conduct any investigative acts in the absence of an introductory submission.”
I was not provided with a copy of this ‘introductory submission’? If there was no ‘introductory submission’, no investigation could have taken place in accordance with Cambodian law.
Article 127. Investigation of Inculpatory and Exculpatory Evidence
“An investigating judge, in accordance with the law, performs all investigations that he deems useful to ascertaining the truth. An investigating judge has the obligation to collect inculpatory as well as exculpatory evidence.”
No investigating or trial judge, no policeman, no member of the Anti-Human Trafficking unit has ever asked me to present exculpatory evidence in support of my insistence that I am not guilty
....to be continued...
....
DeleteArticle 133. Investigative Actions Requested by Charged Persons
”At any time during a judicial investigation, the charged person may ask the investigating judge to interrogate him, question a civil party or witness, conduct a confrontation or visit a site. The request shall be in writing with a statement of reasons. If the investigating judge does not grant the request, he shall issue a rejection order within one month after receiving the request. This order shall state the reasons. The Prosecutor and the charged person shall be notified of the order without delay.”
I have never been informed that I had a legal right to ask the investigating judge to interrogate me. This would have been difficult, of course because I was in jail in Thailand.
Article 143. Notification of Placement under Judicial Investigation
“When a charged person appears for the first time, the investigating judge shall check his identity, inform him of the imputed act and its legal qualification, and receive his statement after informing him of the right to remain silent. This notification shall be mentioned in the written record of the first appearance.”
I have never been informed of my right to remain silent? I have never appeared before an investigating judge to answer questions?
Article 126. Placing Suspect under Judicial Investigation
“The investigating judge shall inform the charged person of his rights to choose a lawyer or to have a lawyer appointed according to the Law on the Bar.”
I was never informed by an investigating judge of my right to either choose a lawyer or have one appointed? I was not aware that a trial was taking place until after it had been completed?
Article 145. Presence of Lawyer during Interrogation
“When a charged person has a lawyer, the investigating judge shall summons the lawyer at least five days before the interrogation takes place. During that period, the lawyer may examine the case file. A charged person can be interrogated only in the presence of his lawyer.”
As I had no lawyer it was not possible for the investigating judge summon him 5 days before an interrogation. No interrogation has ever taken place.
Article 206. Statement of Charged Persons and Reasons for
Provisional Detention
“The investigating judge who orders the provisional detention of a charged person shall issue an order containing reasons. The investigating judge’s reasons in the order shall be based on the provisions of Article 205 (Reasons for Provisional Detention) of this Code. The Royal Prosecutor and the charged person shall be immediately notified of the decision.”
I was not notified of the reasons why I was charged.
Article 247. Closing Order
“If the judge considers that the facts constitute a felony, a misdemeanor or a petty offense, he shall decide to indict the charged person before the trial court. The order shall state the facts being charged and their legal qualifications.”
I have never been provided with an order that states the facts relating to the charges made against me.
Article 252. Mandatory Rules
“128 (Assistance of Court Clerks) of this Code. Proceedings shall also be null and void if the violation of any substantial rule or procedure stated in the Code or any provisions concerning criminal procedure affects the interests of the concerned party. Especially, rules and procedures which intend to guarantee the rights of the defense have a substantial nature.”
I believe that many violations of the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure have occurred and that I am entitled, in accordance with Cambodian law, to a re-trial.
....
DeleteArticle 305. Appearance of Accused upon Indictment
“According to Article 249 (Provisions of Closing Orders in Relation to Provisional Detention and Judicial Supervision) of this Code, the order to keep the accused in provisional detention will expire after four months. If the accused has not been brought before the court within this period, the accused shall be automatically released. A judgment on the merits of the case shall be made within a reasonable time period.”
I have been in jail for four and a half years now, unable to unable to present a defense to the Phnom Penh Municipal court.
Article 316. Public Nature of Trial Hearing and Confidentiality
“Trial hearings shall be conducted in public. However, the court may order a complete or partial in-camera hearing, if it considers that a public hearing will cause a significant danger to the public order or morality.”
Did thePhnom Penh Municipal court order an in-camera hearing because it believed that the facts of this case were likely to cause a significant danger to the public order or morality?
Article 318. Establishment of Order in Hearing
“The presiding judge shall conduct and lead the trial hearing. The presiding judge shall guarantee the free exercise of the right to defense.”
As I was not in court on the day of the trial I did not have free exercise of my right to a defense.
Article 321. Evidence Evaluation by Court
“Unless it is provided otherwise by law, in criminal cases all evidence is admissible. The court has to consider the value of the evidence submitted for its examination, following the judge’s intimate conviction….The judgment of the court may be based only on the evidence included in the case file or which has been presented at the hearing.”
Why was evidence that had no bearing at all on the charges that had been laid against me (rape) allowed to be introduced by NGOs?
Article 325. Interrogation of Accused
“The presiding judge shall inform the accused of the charges that he is accused of and conduct the questioning of the accused. The presiding judge shall ask any questions which he believes to be conducive to ascertaining the truth. The presiding judge has a duty to ask the accused both inculpatory and exculpatory questions.”
At no time did the presiding judge inform me of the charges that had been laid against me. At no time did the presiding judge question me. I was in jail in Thailand at the time of the trial.
I submit to the court that there have been sufficient breaches of the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure to render the original verdict of ‘guilty’ to be null and void.
Another example of your delusional ramblings. I fell asleep trying to read your answer. A defence lawyer acting on behalf of the victim stated that he didn't want a re-trial. Yes, thats what defence lawyers acting on behalf of victims do. They dont want the victim to have to go through the trauma again.
DeleteSo what is your point Ricketson - are you so dysfunctional that you will not accept that a lawyer can ask the courts to do anything and it is up to the courts to decide on what is best from their legal perspective.
Your argument is becoming boring!
@7:39PM By the sound of it you're quite involved in the Child Protection Industry. APLE?
DeleteMOUs, Code of Conduct and other protocols are all very nice on paper, but daily practice is a different thing.
APLE, for example, violates about everything that's written in their own Code of Conduct. It just looks nice and professional on their website.
The argument that the prosecutor controls the prosecution in Cambodia is absolute bullshit, same as the argument that it's the court who decides.
Judges and prosecutors are quite used to receiving phone calls from officials high up at the ministries that order them to hand down a certain verdict.
More than enough examples of that.
And police is not re-investigating anything. They just copy and paste APLE's 'facts' and send it to court. APLE prepares the story, prepares the victims and prepares the facts.
The prosecutor brings every case to court and judges tend to find every foreigner guilty, because if the don't APLE will accuse them of corruption. APLE goes to the embassies with their fabricated evidence. The embassies have a mandate to push the Cambodian Ministries.
In the case of Giuseppe Nicolosi the Australian Embassy wrote a letter to the the Cambodian Ministries to push for his conviction. The prosecutor asked for his immediate release, a medical examination showed no signs of abuse, the 5 year old 'victim' said nothing ever happened to her and her mother admits it was her husband who pushed them to lie because he wanted the $5000 compensation promised by the NGO. The letter from the Australian Embassy was presented and Giuseppe got 8 years!
Seila Samleang's comment on the fact that their was no evidence: "The girl and her family were influenced by the suspect and the girl must have forgotten about her long past traumatized experience" Yeah, that's APLE.
MOUs, Code of Conduct, beautiful reports with excellent statistics. It's a sickening business!
Anonymous 4.44
ReplyDeleteWell that depends on who your speaking with.
Maybe you should have a chat to Dany in China . NGO's had been quick to raise their sticky hands and taking credit for saving Dany with the hope for fame and more donor $$$ but fact is Dany was sold into China. Yet not one NGO makes mention of that
As for Fletcher he may well be a creep and guilty. If he is l would gladly cut his balls off. But why no trial? Thats the question that keeps getting asked here. Get him in court let him and everyone have their day .
As for these retarded NGOs who remove children from families, your day will come, as these children get older and stronger and take legal action against you all .
Dear Steve Morrish
ReplyDeleteI sent you an email as I have many times before, including twice today, and received the following message just now:
“Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the server for the recipient domain sisha.org. The content of this message looked like spam.”
Rejecting my emails to you as ‘spam’ is symptomatic of the response I get from all those to whom I have written my open letter. If you can’t shoot the messenger, relegate him to ‘spam’ and pretend that he does not exist; act as though the questions he asks have not been asked or, even if they have been, do not need to be answered because…as the APLE Team has said, NGOs are all good people and do not need to be held accountable because, well, they are self-evidently good people….!
I concur with the above comment (7.10) about kids illegally removed from their families. I hope that some, when they grow up (and particularly if they become lawyers) will set in motion a class action suit against all the NGOs who ‘stole’ Cambodian children and used them to raise money through sponsors and donors. This will not happen, of course, until true democracy arrives in Cambodia. Given how rapidly things can change in the world this might not be too far off.
Here is my email to you, relegated to ‘spam’:
Steve
I continue to be amazed (shocked, actually!) that you do not believe David Fletcher is entitled to a fair trial. Yes, you think he is guilty. Yes, you may even have evidence of his guilt (as you have told me before) but why not present this to a court?
You know from experience how a person's life can be damaged, destroyed, by scuttlebutt, lies and innuendo. Peter Hogan and Robert Jamieson did a pretty good job on you. You were lucky enough to seek a form of redress though the proper channels and, whilst your reputation was damaged, to be eventually exonerated of any wrong-doing.
The only avenue through which David Fletcher can seek justice (guilty or innocent) is by being allowed a fair trial. You got your 'fair trial' and I cannot fathom why you do not publicly state that David Fletcher is entitled to his fair trial.
cheers
Clearly Morrish has more brains than you are giving him. Your email and reply email are obviously indicative of the fact that you are trying to set him up Ricketson. Why would he respond to anything you write when you have rushed out and published his email reply to you on this blog. Good journalist ethics there.
DeleteEven a retard knows that you are just looking to keep your blog going.
Steve, if by chance you do read this, dont waste your time or give these clowns any of your energy.
There has been a lot of communication between myself and Steve this past few months and we have twice met to discuss all this and other matters. Indeed, I offered to help Steve with his attempts to get SISHA up and running again by putting him in contact with a barrister in Australia.
DeleteI have asked Steve on several occasions now (including on this blog) if he has any evidence, after two yeas of investigation, that David Fletcher was either grooming young girls or had raped Yang Dany. Steve has not responded to my questions. Yes, this morning, when I asked Steve if he had made the comment attributed to him, he was quick to get back to me. When I got back to him I found myself blocked.
I am not trying to set Steve up. I am (and have been for quite some time) trying to get him along with others, to acknowledge Fletcher's right to a fair trial. Steven is not just come innocent bystander in all this. SISHA spent 2 years investigating Fletcher and, when he left the country (and 4 different investigations had come up with no evidence) the following press release was published:
"Following on from last weeks article by the British press, EAS has recently received this press release from SISHA requesting a Call to the Public for information
For the past two years, the British Police Child Exploitation and Online Protection team (CEOP), in cooperation with the Cambodia National Police and NGO’s South East Asia Investigations into Social and Humanitarian Activities (SISHA) and APLE have been investigating British national Mr. David Fletcher for alleged sexual abuse of children in Cambodia.
On Wednesday the 23rd of June 2010, media articles were published in Cambodia and other countries which alleged that Mr. David Fletcher, a British national living in Phnom Penh, was running a not-for-profit organisation which provided food and medical services to children living in the Stung Meancheay dump site in Phnom Penh. The media articles further alleged that Fletcher was sexually abusing young children living at the dump site.
On Friday 25th of June 2010, as a result of media articles published, Fletcher fled Cambodia and travelled across land into Thailand.
The British Police Child Exploitation and Online Protection team (CEOP), in cooperation with the Royal Thai Police and NGO - South East Asia Investigations into Social and Humanitarian Activities (SISHA), acting on information provided by concerned citizens living in Cambodia, located Fletcher at a guest house in Bangkok.
On Sunday 27th of June, Fletcher was arrested at the guest house by Royal Thai Police for immigration offences, specifically failing to notify the Thai immigration authorities of his previous criminal convictions in the UK. Fletcher is currently in a Thai immigration detention centre awaiting a decision from the Thai authorities regarding deportation.
Call to the Public
South East Asia Investigations into Social and Humanitarian Activities (SISHA), is continuing its investigation into the allegations against Fletcher and asks that members of the community who have information regarding Fletcher and his alleged criminal activity or have been potential victims of his abuse, to please contact SISHA on email investigations[at]sisha.org or by telephone 017 382 877.
You are an idiot Ricketson - if you were blocked, how did your email get through to him. Wait for it, Steve is sitting at his desk combing through his spam emails to make sure he hasn't missed anything and then decides that he should answer this particular email.
DeleteWhat he has done is what most smart people would do - he has ignored your ramblings and requests to provide information that you will use to setup more blogs. He has responded to a question asking if he has posted anything which is clearly 'NO'. Sounds like a very smart copper if you ask me and I hope he continues to ignore your requests as if he answers on this blog I would lose respect for him.
To the person above who uses the words 'retard' and 'clowns' why is it that when Ricketson asks questions or presents facts you never attack him on basis of his facts but fall back on abusive language to make your case?
ReplyDeleteFacts in the way of a good story now that is a joke you are the king of that little game Mr Ricketson please don’t make us all laugh.
ReplyDeleteInferences are what Judges can make and decide upon especially if similar or like behavior has been used in the past offending.
Get your facts right about his previous offending there was nothing consensual - CONSENT COULD NOT BE GIVEN she was not of legal age thus it’s a MUTE topic no matter what you say.
You need to research the facts about his offending the use of alcohol etc etc. I find your position not only untenable but a disgrace. You continued references to consent and only statutory rape and his girlfriend are a joke. He committed offences and continued to commit offences in Cambodia no matter what justification you put on them. Why are people losing sight of the facts Fletcher himself made some admissions and Danys distress was observed by a witness. Again Rape and what could amount to attempted rape are the same offence. You continually make reference to the Hymen is that to suggest she was not raped that there was no attempt that he did not try to force himself upon her. Have you read the prosecutors notes or the investigating judge’s notes in the case. You do realize that Cambodia is an inquisitorial system things just don’t go to trial or has that slipped by you as well.
Dear Anonymous 9.02
DeleteYou do not do yourself any favours in the credibility department through the use of expressions such as “please don’t make us all laugh.” If, indeed, all this makes you laugh, I think you have a strange sense of humour.
‘Inferences’ do not come into play during a trial. They may come into play during sentencing.
There is no reference in the court documents to David Fletcher’s statutory rape conviction of 1998 so this is a red herring. It had no bearing on this case.
Whilst it is not relevant to the Cambodian charges, the UK court found that the young woman, three months shy of the age of consent, was a consenting sexual partner. Yes, Fletcher’s actions were wrong, illegal, but that they played no role in this case is borne out by court documents.
You write that Mr Fletcher “continued to commit offences in Cambodia no matter what justification you put on them.”
Do you have any evidence in support of this allegation? Other than what you have read on a blog or in a newspaper? And can you prove me with any evidence that I have provided ‘justification’ for whatever offences you think he committed?
You write, “ You continually make reference to the Hymen is that to suggest she was not raped that there was no attempt that he did not try to force himself upon her. Have you read the prosecutors notes or the investigating judge’s notes in the case.”
Yes, I have all the court files and the most relevant document - Criminal Verdict No. 44Rk1 dated 09 May 2011 contains the following – clear evidence that as far as the court was concerned David Fletcher actually raped Yang Dany; that he did not merely attempt to. These snippets have not been translated well but you will get the idea:
“For the first time, the accused David John Fletcher raped her in his room, but he did not abuse violence, then he raped deeply. For the first and second rapes, her vagina had not bleeding, but he had semen.”
AND
“…the accused is the man with strong force to pressure his litigant who is the weak girl and could not move, so that the accused raped her with his passion for once and twice to reach his passion.”
Ricketson - you have been in Asia long enough to know that Khmer to English translation can very distorted. i.e. The PM's speech in 2013 where the media translated one of his comments as saying to the people "I will cut you down like dogs".
DeleteYou are taking the translation literally and it is clearly wrong.
Please!
And you, Anonymous 10.06, are not addressing any of the points I made in my response to your comment. Yes, the translation is not a good one but I think it is clear that the judges were trying Fletcher for an actual rape and not for an attempted rape. Why else would they make a point of accounting for Yang Dany's intact hymen by saying that it must have grown back? If the judges were only dealing with an attempted rape why would the state of her hymen be an issue?
DeleteHahaha, I just logged onto this blog and nearly pissed my pants with laughter. Ricketson, why would you put the top header image as a screenshot from your Google analytics? Is it to try and justify to everyone that you have some people reading the site or is it trying to scare people into thinking that your blog is reaching the upper realms of Congress or the UN.
ReplyDeleteI would say that half of those website hits would be you checking your own site every 5 minutes.
Loser!
Dear Anonymous 10.09
DeleteYou are not alone amongst anonymous commentators in having a strange sense of humour.
In fact people are reading my blog and, like you, commenting on it. Such dialogue, debate and argument is part and parcel of the democratic process.
They simply can not debate your work, your facts. They have nothing to offer other than hate, so they only attempt to slander you. They believe that it diminishes your work, while it only diminishes them. YES, David Fletcher deserves a fair trial. Keep up your great work James.
ReplyDeleteWe dont need to debate his work. Fletcher and the other kiddie fiddlers are in jail and thats all that counts. Carry on ranting and raving about giving Fletcher a fair trial but no-one cares. We do care that he won't be able to exploit any more young girls - whether he raped them, attempted to rape them, sexually assaulted them or drugged them or got them drunk or locked them in his room or just used bluff on poor uneducated girls - he is a monster and society is better off without the maggot sucking up oxygen.
DeleteNow that I think of it, wasn't he supposed to be going on a hunger strike and committing suicide. Another load of shit!
Dear Anonymous 10.56
DeleteYou deserve 9 out of 10 for perseverance but, alas, only about 2 out of ten for logic!
If he were not dead I would swear that a comment such as this one was the work of Peter Hogan. Perhaps you are trying to carry the Hogan legacy on!?
Clearly, facts, evidence, truth and justice are of no concern to you and it is probably pointless to respond to your comment. However...
Do you have any evidence that Fletcher is a 'kiddie fiddler' other than what you read on a blog or in a newspaper?
Your "maggot sucking up oxygen" has a certain poetry to it and will certainly find its way into my book.
Yes, David Fletcher was on a hunger strike. Now he is not. And your point is?
Do you actually read what you write Ricketson? Foot in mouth disease is something you suffer from in all of your comments.
Delete'Do you have any evidence that Fletcher is a kiddie fiddler other than what you read on a blog or in a newspaper' - so are you saying that blogs like yours are not credible. Are you suggesting that bloggers like you are full of shit and what they say should not be taken seriously - or is it only your blog that we should all believe.
Evidence that he exploited a child 1) convicted for statutory rape in the UK - yes she was a child, 2) convicted for rape in Cambodia - yes she was a child.
Your point is?
So Ricketson - do you accept that Fletcher took advantage of a young girl, that he lured her into his room, didn't let her out and indecently assaulted her or this all false as well?
ReplyDeleteWhich girl are you referring to here, Anonymous 10.59? The girl in the UK or Yang Dany in Cambodia?
DeleteIn either case, what is the source of your information?
At the risk of belabouring the point, yes, in the UK Fletcher was found guilty of having consensual sex with a young woman. This is called statutory rape. There was no suggestion that he 'lured' her.
So I guess you must be referring to Yang Dany - in which case the appropriate place to determine whether Fletcher is innocent or guilty is in court.
You are downplaying a rape conviction, with a jail term, with the argument "she wanted it".
ReplyDeleteChildren cannot give consent. This is black and white.
Of course this is relevant, and would be admissible court.
Anonymous 11:15, That is even stupider than the post above it (10:59) Most likely the same person, you should stop drinking.
DeleteHow is it stupid? Consent is not able to be given by a person under the age of 16 (in the UK, where Fletcher committed the crime). That is what "the age of consent" literally means.
DeleteWhen you are discussing a person (a much older man in this case), having intercourse with someone below the age of consent, whether the victim is a "willing participant" has no bearing.
Dear Anonymous 11.15
DeleteWhere did I say or infer or even subtly suggest that "she wanted it"?
No, children cannot give their consent (even if they give their consent) but here's a statistic from the UK to ponder: "Some 27% of women are having sex before they reach the age of consent."
You can find the link here:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/one-in-four-women-lose-their-virginity-97009
That's one hell of a lot of men who, having had sex with one of these 27%, are 'monsters' who deserve 10 year jail sentences!
Yes, David Fletcher having sex with a girl not old enough to give her consent (legally) was and is wrong on many levels. David Fletcher acknowledges that and has been appropriately punished. Now you want to punish his a second time around!
I agree with Anonymous 12.03, you probably should not drink and blog at the same time. But I do have to thank you for keeping my page view averages up!
Why do you bother to even visit this site?
You call a victim of rape a "willing participant". As if that matters.
ReplyDelete27% of women are having sex with partners close of the same or similar age. Not old men who ply them with alcohol and then film the heinous act.
I am not saying he should be punished again for that crime. But you say his history should not matter. When a convicted rapist lures another girl to his house, locks the door, and plies her with alcohol, his history certainly does matter.
Anonymous 1.19
DeleteThis is becoming tiresome! One more time.
The girl in the UK was 15, just a few months shy of 16 - the age of consent. Fletcher had been 'going out' with her for a while. Yes, strange, wierd or whatever you want to say about a man in his 50s going out with a 15 year old. And, of course, illegal. Statutory rape. That is established.
According to the court, the young woman was a willing participant in the drinking, the sex and the filming. And of the 27% of girls who have sex before the age of consent I dare say that many of them did so after having a drink or two. And many foolishly agree to have their sexual encounters filmed - as is attested to the number of times this is referred to in the press.
As for history, here is the way it works. A person is tried for the crime they committed, not for a crime they committed 12 years beforehand. Yes, when it comes time for sentencing prior history becomes relevant. In this case, as I have already pointed out to you, there was no mention made in court documents of Mr Fletcher's 'statutory rape' conviction in 1998. Your reference to Mr Fletcher as a 'convicted rapist' is incorrect. He is a man who was convicted of statutory rape.
As for Fletcher luring Yang Dany to his house and lying her with alcohol, there is absolutely no reference at all in court documents to alcohol.
You are making the same kid of emotive argument that Peter Hogan and others made when they set out to destroy Fletcher. You cherry pick facts that suit you, you make up facts that suit you and you ignore facts that do not suite you.
I will say it one last time: It is up to a properly constituted court of law to separate the facts from conjecture; the facts from emotive arguments such as the one you present. Mr Fletcher has been denied the right to a trial and you, in your persistent desire to see him convicted of rape in 2011, for another offence committed in `1998, clearly do not believe he is entitled to any trial at all.
Please, if you must comment again, stick with the facts.
From your own writings:
ReplyDelete"You failed to mention in your article that Mr Fletcher was involved in an ongoing relationship with the girl in question and that she was a willing participant in the drinking, the sex and the video-taping."
He was going out with a child.
According to Ricketson that doesn't matter because the child said it was ok. It does make you think about the point made by another poster previously that perhaps Ricketson is a child sex offender himself. He thinks having sex with a child is ok as long as she says its ok, he is trying very hard to justify the actions of convicted child sex offenders and he has been grooming poor families who have young daughters who are children.
DeleteAlarm bells are ringing!
He was going out with a girl a few months shy of 16. You can refer to her as a 'child' if you wish. The definition of a 'child' is a very loose one - from "A young human being below the age of puberty" up to the age of 18.
DeleteAt the risk of belaboring the point 27% of female 'children' in the UK are sexually active. It is odd to me that any young woman would want to 'go out with' a man more than 40 years older then her but it is not at all uncommon.
And, bear in mind (sorry to persist with this point) the Phnom Penh Municipal Court had no interest at all inMr Fletcher's 1998 statutory rape case and did not take it into account in sentencing.
Mr Ricketson, I agree this is no laughing matter and indeed it’s your reputation that you are and have risked. Your failure to research the FACTS in all matter surrounding this important issue has been very evident. Making us laugh is as I am sure you are aware an expression at the absurd position you have taken. Your lack of understanding of the criminal law is also an issue you need to resolve. Judges can draw inferences from a defendants or charged persons behavior, demeanor actions especially when deciding or instructing a jury in regards to guilt, likewise similar acts can also be presented as direct evidence and a judge can draw an inference from these, transfer of malice etc etc are other circumstances where this can occur. Your translations are extremely poor and you should have them done by a reputable firm if you are going to rely on them. As you have rightly stated its open for proper debate and I have raised my issues with this blog and your position.
ReplyDeleteFailure to mention all the facts can leave you open to suggestion of bias as is a failure to conduct relevant research. By not providing all relevant facts you leave yourself open for criticism and attack in what appears to be defending the undependable thus people can question you real motives. Once agfain Consent in either case is a mute point.
Please, Anonymous 2.43, do me a favour and read the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure. Some relevant passages are quoted above - incorporated into the statement that Mr Fletcher was not allowed to make to the court.
DeleteYou talk about judges making inferences as if a trial actually occurred in 2011. There was no trial that came anywhere closer to adhering to the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure. No witnesses. No evidence. No cross-examination. Just statements made by Yang Dany on 27th June 2010 - a week after Andrew Drummond's article and AFTER her mother, Kheang Sekun had been told there was $30,000 in compensation coming her way if she had Fletcher charged with rape.
In a proper court the $30,000 would have been mentioned. In a proper court Yang Dany would have been cross-examined. In a proper court...etc.
Read the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure!
Yes, the translations are not terrific but it is clear that the court was dealing with allegations of an actual rape and not an attempted one.
Please point out to me the facts that I have failed to mention.
Yes, I am open to criticism. And so I should be. I should be held as accountable for the facts I present. So too should SISHA and APLE and CEOP - all of which spent two years looking for evidence and, upon not finding it, lo and behold, Fletcher is charged with rape!
I have asked both SISHA and CEOP if they are in possession of any evidence that David Fletcher rape Yang Dany (it is certainly not to be found in court documents) but they refuse to answer questions such as this. There would be considerable egg on their faces if David Fletcher were to be found innocent in a proper court so the status quo is best kept as it is.
Since you seem to know more about this matter than I do I presume that you are not only in possession of the same court documents that I am but of other evidence. Please share it with us.
I am not going to bother with your 'consent' comment. Yes, it is 'moot', not mute. It is not relevant to whether or not Fletcher raped Yang Dany.
Finally, given your persistence (which is admirable, even if your logic is flawed at times) you clearly feel very strongly about this case.Much too strongly to be merely an interested bystander. You are pretty clearly a participant in it in one way or another. Why not identify yourself and be held accountable for your comments as I am being?
Ricketson where do you get your facts from, she was not his girlfriend she was training to be a hairdresser. If she was a girlfriend which she was NOT its OK in your mind to fill her with alcohol and have sex?????? what is your perception of wrong. You keep saying she was nearly 16 SO WHAT she was NOT So the girlfriend who loves him makes a complaint GET your facts right and stop defending the undefendable she WAS NOT his girlfriend and if she is reading this you continue to insult her and what she went through. You have no idea what your talking about making up stories to suit yourself.
ReplyDeleteWhat has any of what you are saying here got to do with whether or not David Fletcher raped Yang Dany? He was tried and sentenced in absentia for raping Yang Dany; not a young woman in the UK.
DeleteMr Ricketson you have called into question peoples motives for raising concerns about Fletcher attending the dump sight and being around children His previous conviction is extremely relevant as are the facts surrounding that conviction which you have chosen to ignore or be willfully blind to. I do not believe the victim in that case would describe him as his girlfriend nor the other victims who were spoken to by police but for their own reasons did not want to go to court. OH yes did he forget to mention the other victims when he spoke to you???
ReplyDeleteOK, you have now clearly identified yourself and I think you are gutless to keep hiding behind this 'anonymous' tag.
DeletePoint out to me one occasion when I have, as you write, "called into question people's motives for raising concerns about Fletcher attending the dump site." Please, just one example, of my having done this?
The facts around Fletcher's 1998 conviction tell us nothing about about whether he raped Yang Dany or not. You persist with this because you know (because you have access to the same files as me) that there is no evidence of rape and seek to convict Fletcher in the public imagination on the basis of a previous crime. And you need Fletcher to be guilty because so many man hours were spent by so many people looking for evidence of his guilt. For Fletcher to be found innocent now, in a proper court of law, would make you and others look very foolish and have an adverse effect on your funding. Your worst nightmare would be for Fletcher to be found not guilty. This applies to APLE also - which is why it was so important to get Yang Dany out of the country to China.
Which 'other victims' are you referring to in your final statement?
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that this man was "going out" with an underage girl doesn't make the rape any better - if anything, it makes it worse. It wasn't an error of judgement, he was dating a child.
ReplyDeleteYes, you keep making this point but what does it have to do with Fletcher's guilt or innocence regarding his rape of Yang Dany?
DeleteThe argument you are trying to run with here, and it is the argument that lies at the heart of so much that has transpired this past five years is this: "David Fletcher had illegal sex with a girl in 1998 therefore he must be guilty of rape in 2009." It is this logic, or lack thereof, that has made it so easy for so many people to take no interest at all in the fact that he has never been provided with a fair trail. The logic being, it seems, "Men who commit one sex crime are not entitled to any trial at all if they are accused of committing a second one - regardless of the lack of evidence that they are guilty. This way of thinking seems to infect pretty well the entire NGO community and English speaking press in Cambodia.
As has been seen, in quite a different case, the Phnom Penh Post reported that Liam Miller had been charged with rape. He had not been. The Post's refusal to apologise to Miller is not just bad journalism; it is not just evidence of a callous disregard for Liam Miller's well-being on behalf of Chad Williams and Chris Dawe. It is evidence also that men who MIGHT have committed a sex offence can be used as fodder fora particular brand of sensational journalism. A story about a man who has been falsely accused by a newspaper of a crime he did not commit, or a man found innocent of a crime in a proper court of law will not attract 'eyeballs' in the way sensational stories do. The Tabloid press worldwide has know this for a long time and bolstered its sales on such stories. They do make for great reading but, those who are caught up in such sensational journalism are collateral damage.
In the case of Cambodia this sensational news dynamic can be (and is) fed by NGOs who can (and do) come up with a regular supply of great stories. Some are stories about real pedophiles, literally caught in the act. Some are manufactured out of thin air because those who manufacture such stories know that the media will not look too closely, with engage in no investigative journalism, and will print pretty much whatever these NGOs tell them. ANd if, in the case of Liam Miller, the victim of such sensational and/or factually incorrect reportage asks for a retraction, an apology, he can safely be ignored because the Phnom Penh Post (in which instance) knows that there is no real danger of being sued for defamation.
A clever gangster finds the weak spots in a society where he can slip in and take advantage of them. With no qualms about using intimidation, with enough money to buy the silence of all those whose silence is required and with enough money to buy the local police and judiciary, such a gangster is free to break the law with impunity.
This story is as old as the Mafia, as old as the Triads. It exists all over the world to this day - even in countries like the United States that have massive resources and powerful courts that can be used to smash such Mafias.
To make the claim that such Mafias exist in Cambodia is not a statement of anything out of the ordinary. It is merely an acknowledgement of a well known fact. What is different in Cambodia is that those who know all too well about such Mafias - the media and human rights groups - only report on those run by the Cambodian government; not on those run by NGOs.
This means, ion effect, that unscrupulous NGOs have no-one looking over their shoulder, no-one asking probing and often difficult questions and no writing writing even mildly critical reports/articles about NGOs that practice Mafia tactics.
The fact that she "willingly drank alcohol" does not make the crime any less either. She was not old enough to legally drink.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 6.39, you've made your point and you can bang on about this as long as you like but the fact will remain, and will be registered by most readers of this blog:
DeleteDavid Fletcher was charged with and found guilty of the rape of a young woman in Cambodia in 2011; not of having plied an underage girl with 1998 and had consensual sex with her.
Yes, 'statutory rape'. A court case was held, evidence was presented and David Fletcher sentenced in accordance with British law - the judge having taken into account all the evidence and testimonies presented to him.
This is what is lacking in Fletcher's case here. Lots of scuttlebutt, lies and innuendo but no evidence tested in court.
This is the key point in all this, regardless of who has been charged with a crime. S/he is entitled to a fair trial. It is quite by chance that I met David Fletcher and discovered that Yang Dany was a virgin after the rapes. I could have come upon any other case and, if I had evidence of his possible guilt, I would have responded accordingly.
Inevitably I am accused of excusing or downplaying Fletcher’s 1998 crime. I am not. It is simply not relevant to whether or not he raped Yang Dany. Khmer men and women accused of genocide in Cambodia have recently been accorded fair trials. The argument could well have been made that they do not deserve such trials but such an argument undermines the rule of law.
Let me use another example. James Mc Cabe was convicted of a drug related crime and did time in jail. There are those who think he should not now be running the CCF Child Protection Unit. He is and he is staunchly defended in the job by Scott Neeson and others who see his past crimes as being no impediment to his doing a good job with the Child Protection Unit. My own objection to Mc Cabe running the unit has nothing to do with his past criminal record (I believe in the possibility of rehabilitation and have had first and experience of it) but with his qualifications to do so. But that is another story.
Can James Mc Cabe respond to: He met his current wife while she was working in a seedy bar, when she was 16 years old. Is that true?
DeleteJames Mc Cabe is not going to respond to this question but even if he did, where do you go from there?
DeleteI am, not suggesting that the age of the wife of the head of a Child Protection Unit is not relevant but that going down this path leads to the kind of muck-raking, innuendo and scuttlebutt that was the original cause of David Fletvher's problems - amplified by Peter Hogan.
I have been coming to Cambodia for 20 years and have heard so many stories about so many people which, if true, would see them in jail. Some of these stories I know to be 2nd, 3rd and 4th hand. Once a story has attracted some attention it gets passed from one person to another as a Chinese whisper and takes on a life of its own. And once it does those with mischief in mind can sue the rumour to destroy someone - as Peter Hogan, by his own admission, set out to do with Fletcher. Here's an example of this from my own life this past 24 hours:
I have a friend who, this past year or so, has staunchly defended Scott Neeson and been angry with me for 'defaming' him. My response has always been, "Scott should not have made defamatory comments about Fletcher in public." My friend's response has been to defend Neeson on the grounds that s/he had learnt from Neeson that there was no question but that Neeson had been 'grooming young girls'. When I asked for evidence of this, I was told that:
"Fletcher had Dany strip naked in his hotel room and fondled her in the most private parts."
There has never ever been any allegation that this took place but having been picked up as a rumour it has been believed by this intelligent friend. I have to wonder how many other such rumours, that I am unaware of, have reached the ears of others.
Court cases are designed,amongst other things, to separate rumours, scuttlebutt and innuendo from fact.
Continual references to the age of Mc Cabe's wife to be will inevitably set the rumour mill going and this is unfair to Mc Cabe - just as it was unfair to Fletcher.
Ricketson, you ask where to go if he responds? Many might believe that a convicted felon for stealing drugs in an undercover raid, for the purposes of reselling while employed by the Australian Police, is even more egregious when combined with a man who married a girl that he met when she was a 16 year old 'bar hostess', to be the head of a Child Protection Unit!
ReplyDeleteI spent over a year with Mr Fletcher in Bangkok remand and I can honestly say his story never changed - even slightly.
ReplyDeleteI can sit here and tell you all that he is innocent but these are just words based on what I know about him. If he's guilty, give him a fair trial and let the judges decide that on a fair basis.
I know from my experience that people are quick to judge your story based on what they read but remember, most of what you read is designed to influence your opinion towards the opinion of the writer.
Everybody deserves a fair trial. If there's nothing to hide, all sides can lay out their argument. If the outcome is the same, no one can ask for more!!
Isn't it concerning how many expat reptiles are making Cambodia their home and in nearly all cases the reptiles have blogs that criticise everything about Cambodia and of good people doing work to make it a better place.
ReplyDeleteRicketson - a self righteous fuckwit who believes in his own press.
Robert Jamieson - another fucking idiot with his ass hanging out of his pants who scrounges around Phnom Penh trying to beg for a free meal, drinks and internet. Runs a blog that also criticises NGO's and good expat people.
Peter Hogan - the best fuckwit of all. Was a drug smoking, ignorant pig who hated anyone who was helping Cambodia and who was successful. Got what he deserved!
There are many others but whats the common theme with these sorry excuse for humans? I dont have to answer!