Judiciary and courts

The U.K.’s fraud office plans to request the extradition of a British national currently detained in Cambodia, after it brought charges against four people for their part in a $36 million Ponzi scheme involving a biofuel plantation. Gregg Fryett was arrested in Phnom Penh in March ...

A top court ordered Cambodia’s electoral body on Monday to unseal voting records in a second province as the main opposition party held a 20,000-strong rally with an ultimatum to the government to set up an independent probe on widespread irregularities in recently-held national elections ...

Outspoken land activist Kuch Veng will regain his freedom in 15 days after the Pursat provincial court yesterday handed down a guilty verdict with a one-year sentence, then suspended nearly three quarters of that term. Veng has been in prison since May 19 on charges of ...

Rights groups on Monday urged the government to drop its incitement charges against four people arrested last week and accused of plotting to topple the government by handing out yellow roses to security forces and urging them to turn their guns against Prime Minister Hun ...

After more than three months in jail, environmental activist Kuch Veng is set to hear his verdict at the Pursat provincial court. The verdict was originally scheduled to be handed down July 10, but the judge ordered it delayed after some 300 people from 11 provinces ...

Police said Sunday they have arrested four people believed to be involved in a conspiracy hatched by a dissident Khmer-American group plotting to topple the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Two men and two women were arrested on Thursday suspected of at­tempting to hand out ...

Cambodia is falling short of the full liberal democracy enshrined in its Constitution, the government is becoming increasingly intolerant to constructive criticism and judicial, parliamentary and electoral reforms have been slow to take effect, according to U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi’s latest report on ...

The opposition CNRP on Thursday walked out of an election complaints session at the headquarters of the National Election Committee (NEC), claiming the body was investigating complaints improperly and without the presence of its leadership. The CNRP, which has called for a transparent and independent investigation ...

Former Bavet City governor Chhouk Bundith, who was convicted in June of shooting into a crowd of protesters and injuring three garment workers, is still at large avoiding an 18-month prison sentence, the national police spokesman said yesterday. “We have ordered all of our authorities to ...

Five Tumpuon villagers have again been summonsed for questioning by the Ratanakkiri Provincial Court in a lengthy dispute after private firm Ly Sokim Co Ltd accused villagers of destroying its property. In the latest summons, dated July 30, villagers are warned that failing to show up ...

Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI) Sathapana Limited will receive $15 million in loans to provide additional support to small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), which make up the vast majority of the country’s businesses. The loan comes courtesy of German Investment and Development Company DEG, a subsidiary of ...

The governor-general of New Zealand, Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae, began a four-day visit to Cambodia on Thursday at the invitation of King Norodom Sihamoni to promote bilateral relations between the two countries. “The visit reflects the priority New Zealand attaches to its relations with the ...

Three brokers were arrested and sent to Koh Kong court yesterday, charged with trafficking 17 Cambodians to Thailand with the intention of sending them on to another country, officials and victims said. According to Soa Samnang, 46, he and 16 other villagers, the majority from Andong ...

After months of protests, more than 1,000 former Mfone employees yesterday received just 10 per cent of the $4.4 million they were demanding in compensation after the telecom company filed for bankruptcy in January. Court-appointed administrator Ouk Ry, entrusted with the sale of Mfone’s assets, ...

An Australia-based firm that announced a plan to explore for gold in Ratanakkiri province insisted Monday that its Cambodian venture is still on track, despite allegations made in an Australian newspaper that it has garnered investment based on false information. Astra Resources, which has companies incorporated ...

A lawsuit filed by families in Koh Kong province accusing U.K. sugar giant Tate & Lyle of wrongfully profiting off land stolen from them is heading to trial after efforts to mediate a settlement fell through earlier this month, according to those involved. Law firm Jones ...

According to defence lawyer Kao Ty, the court decided to uphold the decision of the provincial court in a closed-door hearing last Friday. “They said if those eight members and workers were released on bail, they would cause a problem again,” he said, adding that ...

Executives at some of the telecommunication firms indebted to bankrupt mobile operator Mfone said Thursday they owe much less than claimed by the company, and will negotiate with Mfone’s administrator to find a resolution before a complaint is filed in court. “We do owe Mfone money, ...

Bankrupt mobile phone operator Mfone is planning to file a com­plaint with the Phnom Penh Muni­cipal Court against six tele­com­muni­ca­tions firms it says have failed to pay back more than $1 million in outstanding debt to the firm, the court administrator charged with overseeing Mfone’s ...

More than 30 families evicted from a former airport site in Preah Vihear province’s Chea Ksan district have filed four complaints with the provincial court since April against district governor Sok Hay. Lor Chan, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said a total of 31 families ...

Two days before a land activist’s scheduled sentencing, about 400 people affected by land grabs demonstrated at Pursat Provincial Court in support of the man who frequently protests against the Pheap Imex Company. About 12,000 families are now involved in land disputes around a Pheap ...

Families who claim a foreigner fabricated documents to sell their land to port officials and a military commander more than seven years ago have desperately appealed to government bodies to intervene. The 104 families who have exhausted legal avenues after both the provincial and Supreme Court ...

A Cambodian court sentenced a former governor in absentia to 18 months in prison for shooting three female workers at a factory supplying sportswear giant Puma, a judge said yesterday. The women, employees of Puma supplier Kaoway Sports, were wounded when someone opened fire on protesters ...

A London-based sugar trade association aiming to promote a more ethical and sustainable industry will meet early next month to consider a request from Cambodian farmers that it eject U.K.-based sugar firm Tate & Lyle from the group unless it gives them back their land. Some ...