Rochom P'ngieng

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Cambodian woman found after 19 years of jungle life

Rochom P'ngieng (allegedly born 1979) is a young Cambodian woman who allegedly lived as a feral child in the jungle for eighteen or nineteen years.

She came to international attention after emerging scared, filthy and naked from the dense jungle of Ratanakiri province in remote northeastern Cambodia on 13 January 2007. After a villager had noticed food missing from a lunch box, he staked out the area, spotted the woman, gathered some friends and caught her.^[1]. After hearing about the incident, 45-year-old Sal Lou^[2] (or Sar Yo^[3]), who belongs to the Pnong ethnic minority^[1] and works as a village policeman in Oyadao village, traveled to the area and identified her as his long lost daughter. He identified her by a scar on her arm from a knife accident.^[4] The family claims she is their daughter they last saw in 1988 when she was 8 years old and lost in the jungle while tending water buffalo near the border to Vietnam.^[4] Her six year old sister was lost on the same day and has never been found.^[2]

The family also claims she has distinctive facial features similar to her mother's, Rochom Soy, who according to different reports is 50^[2] or 41^[3] years old. Cambodian human rights authorities are said to be planning DNA testing to confirm her identity. The family initially agreed to these tests, but later withdrew consent^[2]. A Spanish psychologist visited the girl and reported that she "made some words and smiled in response to a game involving toy animals and a mirror" but doesn't speak any recognizable language.^[5]

There have also been reports of a naked man who was seen with the woman and ran away when challenged.^[2]^[3] Some reports have him carrying a sword; some villagers believe he was a jungle spirit. The Pnong follow no organized religion but the family took the woman to a Buddhist pagoda to have monks calm her spirit.^[3]

One week after returning from the wild, she experienced difficulties adjusting to civilized life. It has been reported by the local police that she only is able to say three words: "father", "mother" and "stomachache". When she is thirsty or hungry, she points at her mouth. She prefers to crawl rather than walk upright. The family watches Rochom P'ngieng around the clock to make sure she does not run off back to the jungle, as she has tried to do several times. Her mother must constantly pull back on the clothes she tries to take off. A visiting Guardian reporter described the family as genuinely caring for her and the woman as listless and sad but restless at night. In addition to the small knife scar on her right arm mentioned above, he also described deep scars on her left wrist and ankle, as well as feet that did not look as if the woman had lived in the jungle for a long time. She was able to use a spoon without instruction. He conjectured that she might have been held captive in the past.^[6]

Licadho, a non-governmental human rights group, fears the woman is enduring trauma after returning to society and could have been a victim of abuse. The woman has marks on her arms that may have been caused by a restraint such as a rope. "We believe that this woman is a victim of some kind of torture, maybe sexual or physical," said Kek Galabru. Licadho has offered to pay expenses to bring her and the family to Phnom Penh, about 250 miles away, and to provide housing costs while she undergoes treatment.

Penn Bunna, an official at Adhoc, another Cambodian human rights group, said the constant flow of visitors is likely causing new stress for the woman. The group has also offered to help pay for medical and psychiatric treatment. "She must have experienced traumatic events in the jungle that have affected her ability to speak," he said.^[7]