Ta Mok 2006 Deaths

Ta Mok

Khmer Rouge leader who was in charge of Cambodia's southwest region under Pol Pot's reign of terror that claimed about 1.7 million victims from 1975 to 1979. Ta Mok's troops conducted bloody purges that earned him the nickname “The Butcher.” In the 1990s, as part of the Khmer Rouge guerrilla movement, Ta Mok is said to have been responsible for several massacres of ethnic Vietnamese. Ta Mok took over the reins of the Khmer Rouge from Pol Pot in 1997. Ta Mok was captured near the Thai border on March 6, 1999. He died before being tried on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.