Police Deny Banana Torture

Cambodian police have been accused of using bananas to extract confessions from two alleged soap powder thieves.

Officers in the Prampii Makara district of the capital, Phnom Penh, allegedly force-fed bananas to two teenagers detained on Sunday until they felt so sick they confessed to stealing five bags of soap powder from a car.

Captain Yim Simony yesterday admitted officers gave the fruit to the young men but insisted nothing improper happened.

"Of course it was not torture," he said. "These teenagers were hungry and refused to answer any questions until they had eaten something. So we gave them the bananas and then they cooperated."

He refused to name the suspects or give further details, other than that the young men would be prosecuted.

Diplomats and analysts are not convinced, saying force-feeding was used by the Khmer Rouge regime, which ruled the country from 1975-79, when 1.7 million people were killed or died.

"I very much doubt they did it out of the kindness of their hearts," said one analyst.

"It's not as if these suspects had been in custody for a long time and were expecting a meal. The Cambodian police are not known for their generosity in such situations."

One diplomat said: "I guess old habits die hard."