A group of Cambodian dissidents were rounded up by police in the Rangsit area on Dec 29, while others were attacked on New Year's Eve by Thai men while giving a lecture on the country's charter and human rights situation to their compatriots in Samut Prakan.
These two events hardly seem like a coincidence.
Nor is it a seemingly random occurrence that groups of Cambodian politicians on Dec 27 came out to urge the Srettha Thavisin government to take action against what they alleged to be support for Cambodian dissidents by the Move Forward Party.
The Thai opposition party, however, denied the allegations.
Regarding the first incident, it turned out the dissidents, including some Vietnamese nationals, are persons of concern (POC) as registered by the United Nations human rights agency UNHCR and are now awaiting shelter in a third country.
According to deputy police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, the dissidents have resided in Thailand for a few years as their application for residency in a third country is being processed.
They were not engaged in any political activities when they were rounded up. The deputy police chief conceded that the officers "acted on complaints made by some worried Thais about the foreign nationals in the vicinity".
He also said they did not consult him before going ahead with the raid.
Sounding a note of atonement, Pol Gen Surachate, a former chief of the immigration police, eventually acknowledged Thailand's commitment to the UN on human rights protection. He ruled out the idea of forcibly repatriating them.
In the other case, on Dec 31, Srun Sorn suffered serious head injuries after he was attacked by two Thai men who later turned themselves in to the police and were charged with physical assault for using a baton to club the activist over the head.
The suspects told the police they were "repulsed" by Srun Sorn, who was doing a livestream at the time. The activist would reportedly have suffered even more serious injuries had his compatriots not chased the suspects away.
Cambodia is without doubt still a highly repressive regime. Despite a series of elections in recent years, it remains a de facto one-party country.
Former PM Hun Sen, who is known for meting out brutality against opponents, including human rights defenders, stepped down last year after almost four decades in power.
After his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) breezed through the July 23 elections in lieu of any serious rivals, Hun Sen handed the reins to his son, Hun Manet.
As a result, the power structure barely changed. But with a new leadership in place, it's almost certain Hun Manet, 46, will face challenges as some pro-democracy elements will undoubtedly test the waters.
It remains a matter of conjecture as to whether Hun Manet will be more open to criticism or follow in his father's footsteps.
Brutal repression as a tactic may pave the road to peace, as claimed by Hun Sen. Yet peace without a system of checks and balances is unlikely to be sustainable.
Prime Minister Hun Manet may soon learn that brutality can backfire and the one-party system with power shared among a few leaders may not help Cambodia to cope with changes in the new era.