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Bou Meng, a Cambodian artist and survivor of a Khmer Rouge torture center, has died at 85
A rare survivor of the Khmer Rouge prison system, he later testified against former commandant Kaing Guek Eav and sold his biography at the museum.
- Bou Meng, a Cambodian painter and one of only seven known survivors of the Khmer Rouge's S-21 prison, died Friday, August 14, 2026, at age 85. The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum announced his death.
- After two months of imprisonment and seven days of torture, guards spared Meng when they discovered his artistic ability and assigned him to paint portraits of Pol Pot and other communist leaders.
- In 2009, Meng testified against prison commandant Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, describing his wife's disappearance. Later, he spent his years at the museum sharing his survival story to educate future generations about preventing such atrocities.
- Youk Chhang, head of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said Meng's journey "will not be forgotten by genocide history around the world" and urged action to preserve stories of millions who survived the Khmer Rouge.
- S-21 held an estimated 16,000 victims before the regime's collapse, part of broader Khmer Rouge atrocities that left 1.7 million dead between 1975 and 1979. The former prison now serves as a museum memorializing those victims.
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Associated Press News+19 Reposted by 19 other sources
Bou Meng, a Cambodian artist and survivor of a Khmer Rouge torture center, has died at 85
Cambodian artist Bou Meng, one of only seven people known to have survived a notorious Khmer Rouge torture center, has died at 85.
·New York, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources34
Leaning Left8Leaning Right5Center19Last UpdatedBias Distribution59% Center
Bias Distribution
- 59% of the sources are Center
59% Center
L 25%
C 59%
R 16%
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