Cambodia: Phnom Penh Court charge a man with obstructing health measures under Law on COVID-19 after he warns garment workers of Chinese vaccines injection
"Update: Man Charged Over TikTok Video Telling Workers Not to Vaccinate", 25 March 2021
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court ... charged a man under the nation’s new Covid-19 law over a social media video in which he tells factory workers not to take Chinese-made coronavirus vaccines, officials said.
Court spokesperson Kuch Kimlong said ... that the man, whom authorities have yet to name, was charged with obstructing the enforcement of Covid-19 prevention measures.
He was questioned by a deputy prosecutor and sent before an investigating judge, Kimlong added.
The charge carries a punishment of six months to three years in prison and a fine of 2 million to 10 million riel (about $500 to $2,500).
In the 30-second TikTok video, the suspect claims that workers would die in two to three years if they took the Chinese vaccine.
“All the factory workers: [You] do not have to be injected. Believe me! Good intentions from me,” the man says in the video.
... Regarding the case, Labor Ministry spokesperson Heng Sour posted on his Facebook page ... asking members of the public, and especially workers, to take photos and report to authorities and factory administrators anyone they see telling them not to be vaccinated.
... Cambodian Labor Confederation president Ath Thorn said he was glad the vaccines were available to workers, but it was up to individual workers whether to receive one. He said he did not know why anyone would discourage people against vaccinations.
“In general I don’t think there’s any obstacle or problem with the vaccinations because most people seem to want to be vaccinated,” Thorn said...