Traffic Camera

Video footage from recently installed cameras capturing the traffic flow at four of Phnom Penh’s busiest intersections will not be recorded for police to use in investigations, the chief executive officer of the company that installed the cameras said yesterday.

EZECOM CEO Paul Branche-Horgan said yesterday that the cameras his company installed in partnership with television network CTN had never been intended for police use.

“It is just a live feed from the four cameras,” Mr Blanche-Horgan said. “CTN wanted to do traffic program… We  are not doing any security.”

Last week, CTN started broadcasting live early morning feeds from cameras at the intersection of Russian Boulevard and St 289, the intersection of Mao Tse Toung Boulevard and Monireth Boulevard and the trhee-way intersection of St 154, Sisowath Wuay and Sothearos Boulevard.

Mr Blance-Horgan said the joint project with CTN cost about $15,000 and was purely intended to provide CTN viewers with a better idea of the traffic situation around the city.

The installation of police security surveillance cameras in Cambodia, however, appears to be on the government’s agenda.

Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak, Interior Ministry spokesman, said yesterday that the government was investigating the possibility of placing security cameras around the Cambodia.

“These four new cameras are just CTN cameras… But we plan to also [place cameras] in the future,” Lt Gen Sopeak said, adding that they did not know when the government would start work on the project.

Traffic Camera

Touch Naruth, Phnom Penh municipal police chief, said yesterday that the police department had already made plan to place surveillance cameras at strategic points around the city.

“The project is good,” Mr Naruth said. “It will serve to ensure the public’s safety and help fight against crime.”

But Mr Naruth said the high cost of installing cameras meant that City Hall would have to appeal for more funding from the government.

“I do not know when [installation] will happen yet,” Mr Naruth said. “It will cost a lot of money [and] the municipal governor will request to Samdech Hun Sen.”

Traffic Camera

In a bid to help commuters prepare better for their journey to work each day, a local television network has begun screening live early morning footage for new cameras installed at four major intersections in Phnom Penh, a network official said yesterday.

It was not immediately apparent yesterday, however, whether the footage from the new cameras would be recorded and saved in case police request it for their criminal investigations around the city.

Som Chhaya, deputy director-general at CTN, said yesterday that the four new traffic cameras had been set up at the intersection of Russian Boulevard and St 289, the intersection of Monivong Boulevard and Sihanouk Boulevard and the three-way intersection of St 154, Sisowath Quay and Sothearos Boulevard.

Mr Chhaya said the footage from the live cameras, shown at 7 am, would provide opportunities for commuter to plan ahead for their trip to the office.

“The number of vihicles has increased in Phnom Penh and at some locations there are traffic jams,” he said. “We can show the real traffic situation and [commuters] can see it before they go to work…and can select a street to travel on.”

Mr Chhaya also said that the cameras could potentially be used by police investigating criminal behavior, but added that he did not know whether the footage from the cameras would be recorded and saved. Officials from Internet provider Ezecom, who partnered with CTN to set up the cameras, yesterday said they would be provide more details about their operation today.

Touch Naruth, Phnom Penh municipal police chief, said yesterday that he was aware of CTN’s cameras, but stressed that there was no agreement between CTN and the police about the footage.

“We do not have cameras yet, these are CTN’s cameras and not security video cameras,” Mr Naruth said, adding that plans were afoot for City Hall to install its own surveillance security cameras.

Mr Naruth said he met with Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema last week to discuss the possibility of installing cameras and he was waiting for decision.

“The municipality has planned to set up security cameras at important areas [around the capital]  to help guarantee the safety of the public,” he said.

Municipal traffic police chief Heng Chantheary said yesterday that CTN’s new cameras would help improve the traffic situation in the capital, where traffic jams occur on the city’s major arteries most mornings.