On 15 December 2012, prominent social activist Mr. Sombath Somphone was disappeared in Vientiane, Lao PDR. He left his office around 5pm. Sombath and his wife Ng Shui-Meng were driving back separately from the office to their home for dinner. Sombath's jeep was following Shui-Meng's car. Shortly after passing above-mentioned police post, Shui-Meng noticed in her rear-view mirror that she no longer had eyes on her husband but assumed that he simply fell behind another car. That was the last time Shui-Meng saw her husband. When Sombath did not arrive home at 6pm, Shui-Meng called his mobile phone repeatedly but was unable to reach him. Instead, an automated message indicated his mobile was switched off. Around midnight the family went looking for him on Thadeua Road thinking maybe he had gotten into an accident, looking for both signs of his vehicle and checked hospitals but without success. On the morning of 16 December 2012, Shui-Meng reported that Sombath was missing to the local village authorities and the Sisattanak district police. She then searched again for him in all of Vientiane's hospitals. On 17 December 2012, Sombath's sister-in-law, niece and nephew went to the Vientiane Municipality Police Station and asked to review the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage taken on 15 December around 6pm, from the KM3 Thadeua Road location where Sombath was last seen. The video footage showed that at 6:03pm, Sombath's jeep was stopped by police at Km 3 Thadeua Road police post while he was on his way home. Sombath was then brought inside the police post. The video footage shows a man dressed in dark clothing arriving on a motorbike at the police post while Sombath was inside. The motorcyclist left his motorcycle by the roadside parked a few feet away nearby the police post and drove off with Sombath's jeep. Within a few minutes delay a beige/off white pick-up truck pulled up to the police post flashing hazard lights. A man wearing light colored top and dark pants stood in front of police post waiting for the vehicle. A few minutes later, Sombath is seen being directed into the vehicle, which then drove off with Sombath, the driver and at least two persons from the police post. Official response so far from government spokesperson is that he was possibly kidnapped because of personal conflicts or business conflicts. Mr. Sombath Somphone is considered a prominent civil society representative, dedicating his life to alternative education in the promotion of sustainable development and peace. He is an anti-poverty activist and founder and former director of the Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC). PADETC works on poverty reduction and sustainability projects. As a result of his innovative work on poverty reduction and economic development, Mr. Sombath Somphone received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, one of Asia's top civil honors, in 2005. Mr. Sombath Somphone has also been involved as a member of the organising committee of the 9th Asia-Europe People's Forum (AEPF9), an inter-regional forum of civil society and social movements across Asia and Europe organised in Vientiane in October 2012. 20/12/12- Joint Urgent Appeal sent to Laos by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. 03/01/2013, 25/03/2013, 10/06/2013- Substantive responses by Lao government claiming that it is doing all within its power to locate Mr. Sombath.