caption image_size nationality landscape birth_date known_for image article_title name occupation
at toul sleng genocide museum , 2010 . 250 cambodian yes 1930 survivor of the tuol sleng prison camp mr_chum_mey . jpg chum mey
 chum mey mechanic
chum mey

chum mey -lrb- c. 1930 - -rrb- is one of only twelve known survivors of the khmer rouge imprisonment in the s-21 tuol sleng camp , where 20,000 cambodians were sent for execution .
he survived two years of torture and fear in a khmer rouge death camp , sustained by thoughts of his pregnant wife and unborn child .
his life was only spared because of his high level of competence in machine repairing for pol pot 's soldiers .
marched at gunpoint into the provinces by his fleeing khmer rouge jailers following the vietnamese invasion , he had a chance encounter with his wife and the young son who was born a few weeks after he was sent to the infamous tuol sleng prison in early 1977 .
for two days they travelled together to an isolated hamlet with a group of other prisoners .
on the second evening , as the family rested beside a pagoda , the guards ordered them to walk into a rice field before suddenly opening fire with their ak-47 assault rifles .
`` first they shot my wife , who was marching in front with the other women , '' he said .
`` she screamed to me , ` please run , they are killing me now ' .
i heard my son crying and then they fired again , killing him .
when i sleep , i still see their faces , and every day i still think of them '' .
in 2003 he appeared in the rithy panh documentary along with cambodian artist vann nath where they were reunited and revisited the former prison , now known as the tuol sleng genocide museum in phnom penh .
they meet their former captors -- guards , interrogators , a doctor and a photographer -- many of whom were barely teenagers during the khmer rouge era from 1975 to 1979 .
their appearances are in stark contrast to the two former prisoners , who are both elderly men .
vann nath , who was made to paint portraits of prisoners , has a full head of white hair .
the guards and interrogators gave a tour of the museum , re-enacting their treatment of the prisoners and daily regimens .
they looked over the prison 's detailed records , including photographs , to refresh their memories .
in 2009 , he gave evidence at the khmer rouge tribunal , the trial of surviving leaders of the khmer rouge regime .
on the 9 november 2014 mey appeared on bbc 's the mekong river with sue perkins
