Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen changed his official birthdate to Aug. 5, 1952 from April 4, 1951, a switch he said corrected a mistake from back when it was registered during wartime in the Southeast Asian country. But critics say the highly superstitious strongman moved his birth from the Year of the Rabbit to the Year of the Dragon, considered auspicious to followers of the Chinese zodiac. Some reports said he changed the date after the recent death of his older brother, fearing the birthdate he had been using may have led to his brother’s demise because it conflicted with the Chinese zodiac.
