CAMBODIA: Sam the Whipper

In 1955, at the first nationwide beauty contest ever staged in the remote Indo-Chinese kingdom of Cambodia, Vice Premier Sam Sary was more than an interested spectator. The judges could choose only one winner, but Sary, a suave, Paris-educated ladies' man, picked two. In no time at all, the judges' first choice, coffee-skinned, sarong-clad Tep Kanary, was installed in Sary's household. Later he added Iv Eng Seng, who was only an also-ran with judges, to his collection.

Hero in Trouble. In Cambodia, this was all right with everybody. Besides, Sam Sary was...

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