Sinn Sisamouth disappeared during the Khmer Rouge genocide and his exact fate has never been confirmed , with multiple sources making contradictory claims . Due to his ongoing popularity with the Cambodian people , there has been a great amount of speculation about his whereabouts after the Khmer Rouge forced the evacuation of all residents from Phnom Penh on April 17 , 1975 , and his apparent death at the hands of the new regime . In the film '' Do n't Think I 've Forgotten '' , an interview subject speculates that Sisamouth was originally evacuated to a small village but was then ordered to return to the city to work for the Khmer Rouge in some capacity , but it is unknown if he in fact followed this plan . Also in '' Do n't Think I 've Forgotten '' , Sisamouth 's son states that many different people have given him contradictory stories of his father 's death . Like many of his contemporaries , as a popular musician with Western influences , qualities widely known to be disdained by the Khmer Rouge , Sisamouth was likely to have been targeted for imprisonment or execution immediately
Khmer Rouge genocide
Cambodian genocide
Sinn Sisamouth