Legal framework
Laws and regulations
Officials use government letterhead for private affairs
Ruling party lawmaker Chheang Vun on Wednesday denied any wrongdoing after using his government position to compel the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications to clear up dangling electrical wires in front of a restaurant he owns. ...
Kuch Naren and Buth Kimsay
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/officials-use-government-letterhead-for-private-affairs-110339/
Holdouts reject new offer to leave dam site
More than 90 villagers in Stung Treng province on Tuesday rejected compensation packages for the land they will lose to the under-construction Lower Sesan 2 hydropower dam, a local official said. ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/holdouts-reject-new-offer-to-leave-dam-site-110297/
Belgian arrested for stealing $48k from Canadia bank
Immigration police arrested a Belgian man in Phnom Penh on Monday for using a forged passport to withdraw nearly $50,000 from Canadia Bank, officials said on Tuesday. ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/belgian-arrested-for-stealing-48k-from-canadia-bank-110291/
Evictions signal coastal development dilemma
With the threat of eviction hanging over businesses on Sihanoukville’s O’Chheuteal and O’Tres beaches, land rights advocates congregated in Phnom Penh this week to give voice to thousands of families locked in land disputes with powerful firms turning swaths of coastline into tourism destinations. ...
Sek Odom and George Wright
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/evictions-signal-coastal-development-dilemma-110279/
UN rights envoy to visit in wake of ‘color revolution’ case
The U.N.’s human rights envoy to Cambodia will arrive for her second fact-finding mission today, following the U.N.’s censure of the government over the widely-criticized conviction of a political science student for calling for a “color revolution” on Facebook. ...
Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/un-rights-envoy-to-visit-in-wake-of-color-revolution-case-110152/
Another former capitol employee arrested for passing out fliers
A former Capitol Bus Company employee was charged with defamation on Saturday after he was arrested in Battambang for handing out leaflets asking people to boycott the company. ...
Lay Samean and Igor Kossov
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/another-former-capitol-employee-arrested-passing-out-fliers
New regulations for life insurance
New regulations are to be bought in for the life insurance sector, which has grown from $60 million in 2014 to $80 million last year, according to a senior official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. ...
Sok Chan
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22970/new-regulations-for-life-insurance/
Sam Rainsy summoned to court over Facebook lawsuit
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has summoned opposition leader Sam Rainsy to appear for questioning in yet another court case, the third lawsuit he has been hit with since a warrant was issued for his arrest in November, according to a copy of the new ...
Kuch Naren
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/110119-110119/
Beachfront evictions to begin in Sihanoukville next week
The eviction of businesses along Sihanoukville’s popular O’Chheuteal Beach will begin as early as Monday, after the provincial governor returns from a trip abroad, an official said on Thursday. ...
Sek Odom
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/beachfront_evictions_to_begin-110076/
As rail plan delayed, homeless take shelter in Battambang station warehouse
Many Battambang residents see the squatter camp at the train depot’s abandoned warehouse as a den of criminals and drug addicts. Fourty-four-year-old Srey Oun sees it as her home. “Many of the people who live here are unemployed,” she said, “but I am always scavenging ...
Ven Rathavong and Jonathan Cox
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22935/as-rail-plan-delayed--homeless-take-shelter-in-battambang-station-warehouse/
Fear hinders independent journalism in Cambodia, survey finds
Fear of government interference, legal repercussions and violence remain impediments to free and independent journalism in Cambodia, according to a survey released on Wednesday in a report by the Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM). ...
Tej Parikh
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/fear-hinders-independent-journalism-in-cambodia-survey-finds-109992/
Ministry adjusting timelines on licences
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport will allow motorists holding what were formerly permanent driver’s licences to extend them for 10 more years. ...
Lay Samean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-adjusting-timelines-licences
Owner of plants burned in pot bust
More than 350 marijuana plants were destroyed by police during a raid on Tuesday that led to the owner’s arrest in Kampong Cham province’s Stung Trang district, while a second suspect involved in the operation is at large. ម្ចាស់ដើមកញ្ឆារត្រូវបានចាប់ខ្លួន ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22867/owner-of-plants-burned-in-pot-bust/
Police shut down NGO event for indigenous communities
Police in Ratanakkiri province on Tuesday ordered rights group Adhoc to call off a planned workshop meant to inform local indigenous communities of their rights, claiming the NGO had failed to secure the necessary permission from authorities. ...
Kuch Naren
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/police-shut-down-ngo-event-for-indigenous-communities-109947/
Korea envoy claims gov’t probe a ‘setup’
Cambodia’s controversial ambassador to South Korea, Suth Dina, has released a public plea to Prime Minister Hun Sen to safeguard his job, amid what appears to be an investigation by the Foreign Affairs Ministry into his office, it emerged yesterday. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/korea-envoy-claims-govt-probe-setup
Australian gaming company probed for Cambodia payment
Australian gaming firm Tabcorp on Tuesday confirmed that it was under investigation by Australian police over a possible bribe it paid in 2009 to a Cambodian consultancy connected to a sister of Prime Minister Hun Sen. ...
Zsombor Peter and Khuon Narim
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/australian-gaming-company-probed-for-cambodia-payment-109949/
Preah Sihanouk officials meet over beach compensation plan
Preah Sihanouk provincial officials met on Monday to discuss an order from the national government to provide compensation for a number of families living and running businesses on O’Chheuteal Beach in Sihanoukville who are facing the threat of eviction. ...
Fuel prices to fall as price caps revealed
The government announced a set of price caps on retail petroleum products yesterday based on the application of its new fuel-pricing mechanism. Sor Chandara ...
Sor Chandara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/fuel-prices-fall-price-caps-revealed
Stricter enforcement of new traffic law will begin today
After focusing their efforts on educating drivers about the traffic law for the past two and a half months, police will today begin strict enforcement of the new rules, imposing fines and punishments on offending motorists, the National Road Safety Committee announced on Friday. ...
Ouch Sony and Peter Ford
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/stricter-enforcement-of-new-traffic-law-will-begin-today-109886/
Three briefly held over Kampot roadblock
The Kampot Provincial Court will continue to investigate three villagers and an NGO worker after they were arrested and released on Friday for allegedly setting up an illegal checkpoint to extort money from timber and firewood transporters in Kampot’s Chhouk district, according to officials. ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/three-briefly-held-over-kampot-roadblock
Rights groups warn of tough Telecoms law
Local rights groups have raised major concerns about Cambodia’s sweeping new Telecommunications Law, which gives the government virtually unchecked spying powers and criminalizes any electronic communication deemed to cause “national insecurity.” ...
Zsombor Peter and Anthony Jensen
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/rights-groups-warn-of-tough-telecoms-law-109837/
Beaten lawmaker is summonsed
Opposition lawmaker Kong Saphea – one of the two parliamentarians brutally beaten by anti-CNRP protesters outside of the National Assembly last year – has been summonsed to appear for questioning over a complaint regarding property stolen from him during the attack. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/beaten-lawmaker-summonsed
Traffic law crackdown starts Tuesday
The National Committee for Road Traffic Safety announced that from Tuesday, traffic police will start intensifying their enforcement of the recently implemented traffic law after a two-month test period showed positive results. ...
Taing Vida
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22700/traffic-law-crackdown-starts-tuesday/
China-kingdom MOU targets illicit bride market
A government anti-trafficking committee is in the final steps of drafting a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to crack down on human trafficking between Cambodia and China, an official said yesterday. ...
Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/china-kingdom-mou-targets-illicit-bride-market