Kill yourself in Cambodia

ambodian backwater in euthanasia website rumpus
Come to sunny Kampot - then kill yourself
By Lester Haines
Published Wednesday 9th November 2005 12:33 GMT


The governor of the Cambodian province of Kampot has initiated legal
action against an American internet cafe owner who promoted the area as
the ideal place to commit suicide, Reuters reports.

Roger Graham's www.euthanasiaincambodia.com and www.asian-hearts.com
(both currently offline) both carried the banner: "You're going to die
anyway, so why not in Cambodia?" which provoked around 50 complaints
from foreigners, including the relatives of a 47-year-old British woman
who recently took her own life in Kampot - something they believe was
partly provoked by the websites.

Governor Puth Chandarith said: "A lot of foreigners were scared to stay
here when they learnt about the Web Site saying Kampot was a good place
to commit suicide with no pain." Accordingly, he has filed suit against
Graham for "disseminating false information" and "defaming the
province".

Graham, owner of Kampot's Blue Mountain Coffee and Internet Cafe,
expressed surprise at the kerfuffle. "It was a nice quiet little
website," he told Cambodia Daily. "Now it's blown into this circus and
it's a bit much for me."

Cambodia has no legislation regarding euthanasia and, according to
Reuters, "diplomats say it does not rank as a high priority in one of
Asia's poorest nations". ®