Tuol Sleng Museum is one of the most visited spots in Phnom Penh. A visit to Tuol Sleng can be very emotional and it is an unforgettable opportunity for you to understand the tragic history of Cambodia.
Being hidden at the small quarter Tuol Sleng to the south of Phnom Penh, Tuol Sleng Museum is relatively remote from the neighborhood because it is absolutely obsolete and in bad condition. Indochina tours Cambodia
Obsolete Tuol Sleng Museum
Tuol Sleng, also known as Security Prison(S-21), was originally a secondary school- Tuol Svay Prey High School during the reign of Preah Batnorodom Sihanouk, and then the Khmer rouge converted it into a torture and interrogation center to extract confessions of anti-government sentiment. Today, it is a museum, a grave reminder of what took place here. Travel to Cambodia
Inside the museum
The Khmer Rouge draped the buildings in sheets of iron and barbed wire, which was electrified to prevent escape. The first floor was occupied by interrogation rooms, the second was filled with cells and the top was administrative offices. There was a large sign out front with the rules that the Khmer Rouge had imposed upon the prisons here. Tuol Sleng means “Hill of the Poisonous Trees”. It gives the Cambodians nightmares just thinking about it.
Tuol Sleng’s rules
The Khmer Rouge was meticulous in keeping records of their barbarism.Upon their arrival, the inmates were photographed and required to give detailed information of their background extending from their childhood until the date of their capture. Most of the victims were last Khmer Rouge soldiers, who were forced to make confessions of alleged crimes against Khmer Rouge government and those who managed to survive their incarceration were sent to the Killing Field to be killed. Many victims were women and children incarcerated along with the suspected father. Several foreigners from Australia, New Zealand and the USA were also held here before being murdered. It is said that during 4 years of Khmer Rouge’s holding power from 1975 to 1978 over 17,000 persons had been imprisoned here, of who only 7 are known to have survived.Photographs of many prisoners’ decomposing corpses were found. Their graves are nearby in the courtyard.
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