Cambodia to pardon 19 prisoners, reduce jail term for 153 on Buddha's day

PHNOM PENH, May 16, 2011 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni has signed order to grant royal amnesty to 19 prisoners and reduced jail term for other 153 prisoners on the occasion of Visak Bochea day, which falls on May 17, Kuy Bunsan, chief of the interior ministry's prison department, said Monday. 

Visak Bochea day is the Buddhism holiday in Cambodia.

According to Cambodian law, prisoners can request for royal amnesty or jail term reduction once a year only if they have served two-thirds of jail term and behaved well while serving in jail, he added. Cambodia granted royal pardons or sentence reductions three times a year including Khmer New Year, Visak Bochea day and Water Festival.
Cambodia has currently a total of 15,800 prisoners in all 26 prisons throughout the country, Liv Mouv, the deputy chief of the prison department said.
Last year, a total of 182 were pardoned and 1,049 others had their sentences cut.