“Sngoun Pich Pagoda” A Security Center of Ang Snuol District

By Sopheaneath Pheng

Sngoun Pich pagoda, located in Konthok commune, Ang Snoul district, Kandal province was a the security center during the Khmer Rouge regime. In 1976, the Khmer Rouge established the security center and brought people to the prison from all communes within this district, according to the 2010, second quarter issue of Searching for the Truth magazine published by the Documentation Center of Cambodia.
In “Day of Remembrance: Wat Sngoun Pich Memorial”, Pheng Pongrasy wrote that the prisoners included evacuees who were accused of being “White Khmer”, CIA, KGB, former old society officers, and “base people” who were accused of disobeying Angkar’s regulations and did not serve the revolution well. There were also Chinese and Cham ethnic minorities.

In 2010, a memorial was built within the compound of this pagoda in order to remember the suffering during the regime and to show respect to the people who died during the Khmer Rouge regime.

Sngoun Pich pagoda’s entrance gate which was located on the left-hand side of National Road 4 in Konthok commune, Ang Snoul district, Kandal province.

A memorial of Wat Sngoun Pich which was built and finished in mid-May 2010. A religious ceremony was held May 19, 2010 to place the bones and skulls of victims who died within this monastery during the Khmer Rouge regime. The Cambodian government marks the 20th of May as the National Day of Remembrance, starting in 2018.

The skulls of victims during the Khmer Rouge regime are placed in the memorial. After the fall of this regime, people dug the bones out of the pits within the compound of the pagoda. The bones were originally placed in a southwest building in the pagoda. Due to age, the building was destroyed, and the bones were temporarily placed in the dining hall until this memorial was built.