US policeman who committed suicide in Cambodia jail cremated

Nov 15, 2006, 5:23 GMT

Phnom Penh - A San Francisco police officer who apparently shot himself while in police custody on paedophilia charges has been unceremonially cremated in a lonely rite at a Buddhist pagoda, US embassy and Cambodian police officials said Wednesday.

Donald Rene Ramirez, 50, was arrested on October 26 by anti-trafficking and juvenile protection police under a court order relating to sexual abuse of a minor. Police said a teenage girl rescued in connection with another paedophilia case against two German nationals made an additional complaint against Ramirez.

The US national was being held in police custody pending further investigations when he apparently committed suicide less than a week later by pulling a police guard's gun into his cell with a mop handle and shooting himself in the mouth.

Deputy chief of Phnom Penh anti-trafficking police, Keo Thea, said he did not attend the cremation but could confirm it did take place late Tuesday at the capital's Wat Preah Puth pagoda, which is known for often hosting the cremations of paupers and criminals due to its low costs.

'Not many people attended. The pagoda staff and the men who drove the body from the hospital morgue in the ambulance were there,' Thea said.

A US embassy spokesman also confirmed Ramirez had been cremated at the request of his family. His ashes will be flown home to the US.

The spokesman said the embassy did not yet have the final report on how Ramirez managed to shoot himself in his cell, but that this was now a matter for the Cambodian authorities as they were the ones investigating the case.

A Vietnamese woman accused of supplying Ramirez with two girls aged under 15 for sex remains in custody pending trial. The age of consent in Cambodia is 15.

Cambodian authorities have arrested around 20 foreigners this year on child sex-related crimes. Also arrested have been a number of parents charged with supplying children for sex with Western men. The crime carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.