Report No. 226

Article 32: voluntary manslaughter

Anyone who voluntarily kills or attempts to kill another person without any of the aggravating circumstances mentioned in Article 31, whether or not a weapon is used, is guilty of the crime of voluntary manslaughter, and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of eight to fifteen years.

However, convictions have been reported in only 6 cases and women have normally received more severe punishments than men

A draft provision in Cambodia's domestic violence law is being approved by the National Assembly and Senate. It proposes a punishment for acid throwers of between 5 - 10 years imprisonment. Activists are still campaigning for the wording to be changed to apply to any person who throws acid, rather than just the current application only to family members who throw acid on other family members.

This would exclude people w ho throw acid at victims who are not related to them. Also, activists argue that the maximum penalty for acid throwing should be increased, especially if permanent disfigurement or disability, like blindness, has been caused. This would be the first time that Cambodian law specifically refers to acid attacks.

However till date the Domestic Violence Law, which was approved in 2005 does not deal with acid attacks in specific terms.