Cambodia to Pardon or Cut Jail Terms for 88 Prisoners on Water Festival

PHNOM PENH— About 88 prisoners in Cambodia are eligible to receive royal pardons or reduced sentences on the occasion of Water Festival, which begins mid-next month, a Justice Ministry spokesman said Friday.

Justice Ministry spokesman Kim Santhepheap said jails across the country proposed 560 prisoners for royal pardons or prison-term reduction on that occasion, but after a thorough review, Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana decided to request King Norodom Sihamoni to grant royal pardons or reduce jail terms for 88 prisoners only, including six females.

"Seven prisoners will get pardons and 81 will get reduced sentences between six months and one year," he said.

Under the Cambodian law, a prisoner is qualified for a royal amnesty provided he or she has served at least two-thirds of the jail term and behaved well while serving time in prison.

For a jail-term reduction, a prisoner must have served one-thirds of the prison term.

Water Festival will be celebrated on Nov. 13-15. It is the largest annual festival in the Southeast Asian nation. Over a million Cambodians, especially those from rural areas, will flock to Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, to enjoy the regatta.