PHNOM PENH, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodian court on Sunday decided to detain a woman for insulting the country's King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen in Facebook posts.
Fruit vendor Moeun Lihor, 20, was arrested on Friday in Banteay Meanchey Province, northwest Cambodia after she posted to her Facebook doctored photographs along with messages that insulted the monarch and the prime minister.
Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court's Judge Chuon Vannak said in a pre-trial detention verdict that the woman was charged with "public insulting" and "provocation to commit discrimination" under the Article 307 and 496 of the Criminal Code.
According to the Criminal Code, public insulting could be punished by a fine of up to 2,500 U.S. dollars, as provocation to commit discrimination could be imprisoned from one year to three years and a fine of up to 1,500 U.S. dollars if the provocation produced no effect.
Government-aligned media Fresh News reported Sunday that Lihor had acknowledged her mistake and said she posted to Facebook the doctored images along with insulting messages at the behest of a Cambodian man living in Australia, whom she has known for three years via Facebook.
In July, a 28-year-old man, Rom Chamroeun, was also arrested for posting a message to Facebook threatening to kill the prime minister. He was charged with "death threat," the crime that could be jailed up to two years if convicted.
