Fact Check: Has Sam Rainsy Passed Away as Claimed?
Former President of Cambodia's largest opposition party, Sam Rainsy, who used to receive 55 seats out of the 123 parliament seats, has now been living in exile since 2015 and has been criticized among the Cambodian supporters.
Meanwhile, a photo showing a former leader of CNRP, Sam Rainsy, laying down on the bed was posted recently on Facebook. This photo was attached with a claim saying that he had passed away due to a lightning strike in France last evening. This post was reacted with mixed comments and reshared by many Facebook users. However, after running a Google Reverse Image search and referring the Sam Rainsy’s latest Facebook post, it proves that the claim was false.
This is about our investigation of this claim.
Social Media Claim
On October 9, 2021, one of the Facebook users posted and shared a photo on a Facebook Group called "TV Sorn Dara" with a claim saying “Sam Rainsy was killed in France”. The above photo attached with this claim has been shared and reacted by many Facebook users who are speaking Khmer.
A screenshot captured from the Facebook Group which says in Khmer and translates in English as “Hot News, Sam Rainsy was killed by lightning in France last evening”.
Fact Check
Fact Crescendo Cambodia started to check and verify this photo attached with the claim directly by running a Google Reverse Image search, which brought us to the source containing the following information. We also checked and verified on Sam Rainsy's official Facebook page as well.
According to a British-American visual media company and is a supplier of stock images, Getty Images, uploaded on April 16, 1998, shows a photo of a former Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot when he died in Anlong Veng district nearby the Thai border. It was uploaded and taken by Jason Bleibtreu.
The following is an image from a website that reads in English as “The supposed remains of the Khmer Rouge dictator on show, near the Thai border”.
Getty Stock Images | Archived Link
Similarly, according to Sam Rainsy's official Facebook page, which was broadcasted live on October 9, 2021 , Mr. Sam Rainsy also presented as a speaker in a discussion on Dual Citizenship Ban for the top officials in Cambodia. The following is an additional image from Sam Rainsy's official Facebook page, which translates in English as “Voice of the National Rescue on Cambodian leaders of one or two nationalities who protect the Khmer nation”.
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You may find the details of this fact-check in Khmer language here as well as the following links related to Sam Rainsy:
Conclusion
Fact Crescendo Cambodia has found that the photo attached with the claim above was false. That photo was factually the body of Pol Pot, former leader of Khmer Rouge, who passed away on April 15, 1998, in Anlong Veng, Oddar Meanchey province. Also, Sam Rainsy is still alive and he appeared and attend the discussion on Dual Citizenship Ban in Cambodia on October 09, 2021, recently.
