Prime Minister Hun Sen has been a hotbed of rumors, criticism and accusations in his political arena for years. Meanwhile, a portrait photo of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen placed in a funeral ceremony was posted recently on Facebook. This was attached with a text in Khmer claiming the “Death News” implying that PM Hun Sen has passed away. It was shared and reacted with mixed comments from Facebook users who are speaking Khmer. However, after reviewing his official Facebook page and sources, it proves that the claim above was false.
This is about our investigation of this claim.
Social Media Claim
On June 6, 2022, one of the Facebook users posted a photo showing a bouquet of flowers with a photo of Prime Minister Hun Sen at a funeral. The photo was shared on a Facebook group called TV Sorn Dara with the caption “Death News”. Photo with this post has been shared several times, along with mixed reactions and expressions from Khmer-speaking Facebook users.
The following is an excerpt from a Facebook user’s post saying, “Born in reverse, dead in reverse”.
Fact Check
Fact Crescendo Cambodia has begun to verify this claim by reviewing messages posted on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s official Facebook page and official government press releases published by the state and private media in the country for the last few days.
The news of the death of the country’s leader should be officially announced by the government, the public and private media and other important means of dissemination, but as of June 20th, we see that no official information has been released on the above case.
According to the official Facebook page of Prime Minister Hun Sen, posted on Sunday, June 5th, 2022, he and his wife recently went to the polls at a polling station in Takhmao town, Kandal Province. The following is a screenshot picture captured from the Facebook page above, which reads in Khmer and translates in English as “Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Samdech Kittipritthbandit go to the polls at the Takhmao Teacher Training College”.
The presence of Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, and his wife was also covered and published by the public and private media in Cambodia and the international media. Below is a video clip showing the Prime Minister and his wife in the polling station in Takhmao town.
Such claims against his family and himself have been verified by Fact Crescendo Cambodia and have often been found to be inaccurate and false. For more details, read the articles in Khmer «បងប្រុស និងប្អូនស្រីលោក ហ៊ុន សែន នៅរស់រានមានជីវិតដូចធម្មតាខុសពីការអះអាង» and «លោក ហ៊ុន សែន និងភរិយានៅរស់រានមានជីវិតនៅឡើយ មិនដូចការបង្ហោះព័ត៌មាននោះឡើយ»។
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You may find the details of this fact-check in Khmer Language here as well.
Conclusion
Fact Crescendo Cambodia found that the photo attached with the claim made by the above users is false. Prime Minister Hun Sen is still alive and he and his wife have just appeared publicly in a polling station in Takhmao town on Sunday, June 5th.
