Students Face Compulsory Drug Tests
All students at the age of possible drug use will have to take drug tests along with their teachers, Interior Minister Sar Kheng says. Photo: Sar Kheng Facebook
- By Lay Sopheavotey
- December 15, 2022 5:25 PM
PHNOM PENH – All students at the age of possible drug use will have to take drug tests along with their teachers, Interior Minister Sar Kheng says.
“This is an obligation, not a wake-up call nor spreading awareness campaign at which they do or don’t, as they want,” he said on Dec. 14 at a school inauguration in Battambang province. “An obligation is a must.”
He said the age at which students will have to take the tests will be discussed but it will be older than 13. The test was to protect social security and welfare.
In November, the minister announced a drug test obligation for job applicants, saying this would be included in an amendment to the Law on Drug Control led by Justice Minister Keut Rith.
Kheng said applicants will have to prove that they are free of drugs by earning a certificate or a letter as proof, regardless of the positions they are applying for. They will not be accepted to work at public or private institutions if they test positive.
The Interior Ministry reported that it has seized 17,060 tonnes of drugs and cracked down on more than 21,366 drug trafficking cases since 2018, with 40,316 people arrested.
Nearly 900kg of trafficked drugs were seized on Dec. 11 in Preah Sihanouk province, the second big case since August. Kheng said authorities detained a ship which he believed came to transport the drugs.
The crew claimed they were to transport cigarettes but couldn’t provide details when pressed about the destination and who was involved.
In Song, a spokesman for the Anti-Drug Department, said two people involved with the seizure had been detained. One was Chinese and the other was from Taiwan. Police were searching for those still at large.
Meng Seavmey contributed to the story.
