Law and judiciary

The number of drug cases and people arrested for drug crimes in 2015 more than doubled year-on-year, while the volume of drugs seized shot up 18-fold, according to police. ...

Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Bun Serey yesterday told the city’s district governors to find all rice wine producers and sellers in their jurisdictions in anticipation of planned mass inspections. ...

Cambodian authorities have signalled their intent to prioritise cross-border trafficking, amid a planned boost in funding from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. ...

A group of villagers in Mondolkiri province filed a lawsuit this week against three local border police officers and a forestry official accusing them of allowing Vietnamese loggers to sneak across the nearby border and illegally log the forests they depend on for a living. ...

Despite starting with a bang just a week ago, the Land Traffic Law has already been subject to two amendments from Prime Minister Hun Sen in direct response to a public outcry on Facebook, a stark contrast to the premier’s usual attitude toward online criticism. ...

National Police and National Military Police have been ordered by the Health Ministry to inspect the licenses of all private ambulances, which are often seen fighting for business at the scene of traffic accidents before charging exorbitant prices for their services. ...

Police in Kampong Cham province arrested a bus driver and his assistant shortly after their bus struck a tractor, injuring three people early on Monday morning. ...

Some 1,500 hectares in social land concessions granted to families in Stung Treng province are being illegally cleared and sold by the community’s land broker, according to locals and rights group Adhoc. ...

Cambodia’s first juvenile justice law, in the works for nearly a decade, will be passed by the end of this year, according to the Ministry of Social of Affairs. ...

Another arrest warrant has been issued for opposition leader Sam Rainsy—who is living in France to avoid two years in jail for a defamation conviction—after he failed to turn up for questioning about a separate forgery and incitement case last month. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen hit back at critics of the new traffic law on Tuesday, singling out his own sister for what he said were unnecessarily negative Facebook posts.  ...

Vendors ousted from the grounds of Hun Sen Borey 100 Knorng Secondary School in Phnom Penh have accused the acting principal of corruption, including selling almost $2,000 worth of state property and forcing students to pay up to $100 to transfer to the institution. ...

In a rare move, the National Police on Monday leveled accusations of illegal logging against a number of government-granted economic land concessions (ELCs) in the eastern province of Mondolkiri, singling out a Chinese-owned rubber plantation and wealthy businessman Soeng Sam Ol. ...

The introduction of the new traffic law has hit a few potholes, with some citizens complaining that it is too tough on poor families, while analysts say people in rural areas have been left in the dark about the new law’s requirements.  ...

A joint commission of 10 lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties yesterday met for the first time to review the draft law on trade unions, and two of 21 articles that were flagged as controversial by unions have changed slightly. ...

The Siem Reap Provincial Court last week questioned a CPP village chief concurrently with a Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) commune chief after they signed documents allowing villagers to mortgage land claimed by the Apsara Authority, officials said on Monday, but charged and jailed only the ...

Factory owners and four jailed garment workers will be summoned today to appear at the Svay Rieng Provincial Court in the coming days to provide “clarification” over a series of walkouts and riots that struck two special economic zones (SEZs) in Bavet City last month, ...

Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Pa Socheatvong yesterday lashed out at civil society groups he blamed for instigating protests aimed at destabilising the government. ...

Stricter controls on guns – including those carried by police – will be put in place following a spate of violent crimes involving firearms in recent weeks. ...

An ethnic Kuoy land rights activist was detained by police in Preah Vihear province on Monday after taking part in an ongoing protest against three businesses that villagers claim encroached on their farmland, officials said. ...

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s request to be questioned remotely by court officials in his latest defamation case cannot be allowed, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry said on Sunday. ...

True to its New Years resolution to enforce stricter traffic laws, the government pulled over a total of almost 25,000 drivers in the three days after the law came into effect. Though many drivers were sent off with a warning rather than a fine, the ...

Interior Ministry officials on Thursday laid out more details about plans to beef up road safety in anticipation of a new traffic law that comes into effect nationwide today, and conceded that the effort would not be without its challenges. ...

The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation stopped issuing new driver’s licences yesterday on the heels of a pledge by Prime Minister Hun Sen to lower their cost. ...