Has Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, been arrested?

Prime Minister Hun Sen has been a hotbed of rumors, criticism and accusations in his political arena for years. Meanwhile, a photo depicting Cambodian PM, Hun Sen, being arrested by the US police was posted recently on Facebook. This photo may be believed to be real as it was reacted to with mixed comments and shared by the Facebook users speaking Khmer. However, after running a Google Reverse Image search, it proves that the above photo was digitally altered.

This is about our investigation of this photo.

Social Media Claim

On June 28, 2022, one of the Facebook users recently posted a photo of Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, being arrested by police. This photo is also attached with the caption in Khmer which means in English as “As I said, ICC”. This picture was shared by many Facebook users, while many other Facebook users also expressed mixed opinions and reactions.

The following is a screenshot captured from the user's post that read in Khmer and translates in English as “We have been looking for him in the forest of Makki, Tuol Sleng, K5 and even at the border camp but could not find it”.

Facebook Post | Archived Link

Fact Check

Fact Crescendo Cambodia started checking the above photos and claims through Google Reverse Image Search, which led us to find the following facts.

An exact photo of the same form and shape was found on the Daily Mail news website published on September 17, 2013. The above website reported and confirmed in English that a man was arrested for throwing firecrackers over a fence at the White House, Washington.

Daily Mail News Report | Archived Link

Another news media called USA Today, published on September 16, 2013, also showed the arrest of a man by the US police. It was entitled in English as “Man arrested for throwing firecrackers at White House”.

USA Today News Report | Archived Link

Similarly, according to the video news report published by ABC on September 17, 2013, it did not show the arrest of Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, as posted above at all. However, it shows a man in blue shirt who was arrested by police on Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House on Monday, September 16, 2013 in Washington, DC.

ABC News Report | Archived Link

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You may find the details of this fact-check in Khmer language here as well.

Conclusion

Fact Crescendo Cambodia found out that the photo posted by the above Facebook user is digitally altered. The original photo was the arrest of a man who threw the firecrackers at White House, Washington back to 2013.