Crime and law enforcement

Australian filmmaker James Ricketson, who has spent more than seven months in Cambodian prison on allegations of “espionage”, had a ruling on his final bid for bail delayed at the Supreme Court today. ...

Cambodian People’s Party spokesman Chhim Phal Virun has been called as a witness in the controversial “treason” case against jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha. ...

More than 16,000 cannabis plants were destroyed in the forests of Takeo’s Kiri Vong district on Tuesday, according to police. ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng has warned the government could take legal action against former opposition leader Sam Rainsy and others involved in the launch of the new Cambodia National Rescue Movement. ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng publicly chided the Transportation Ministry yesterday over the poor quality of National Road 8 and the ministry’s failure to maintain the eastbound highway that cuts across Prey Veng province, where Kheng is the head of the ruling CPP’s working group. ...

A National Police officer who beat up a traffic policeman on Tuesday for reprimanding him for running a red light was sent to pre-trial detention by Phnom Penh Municipal Court this afternoon and faces the preliminary charge of “intentional violence”. ...

Police in Siem Reap province yesterday arrested 20 boys and young men pretending to be Buddhist monks in order to beg for money.Huot Sothy, deputy provincial police chief overseeing criminal offences, said officers had followed the group for a while before getting permission to crack ...

Former Deputy Prime Minister Lu Lay Sreng, who has been abroad since October, has been summonsed to appear in Phnom Penh Municipal Court for a defamation hearing on January 25. Lay Sreng, 77, was sued for defamation by his former party, Funcinpec, and Prime Minister ...

Outspoken government critic Kim Sok was rejected bail at the Supreme Court this morning, with the prosecutor arguing that to grant Sok early release from an 18-month prison sentence would cause “chaos” in society. ...

Some 900 plaintiffs have joined a class action suit against investment company Empire Big Capital, which is estimated to have defrauded tens of thousands of Cambodians out of up to $400 million, with more complainants expected to join the legal case in the coming weeks. ...

A task force to curb natural resources crimes has cracked down on an illegal mine in Kratie province and is proposing to fill it in after there were four deaths at the site last year. ...

Jailed ex-opposition figure Meach Sovannara has written a letter congratulating Prime Minister Hun Sen on his recent wedding anniversary in an apparent bid to secure a reduction in his 20-year prison term. ...

Official confiscated about 6 cubic metres of luxury timber in Preah Vihear’s Chey Sen district this week in two separate busts, also detaining eight for illegally transporting timber out of the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday threatened to fire Daun Penh District Governor Sok Penh Vuth over growing disregard for traffic laws among the public as local authorities scrambled to enforce a new crackdown on offenders. Hun Sen urged motorists to obey traffic laws, appealing specifically to ...

The 38-year-old former governor of Ratanakkiri province’s Banlung city was apprehended in Phnom Penh yesterday nearly six months after a warrant for his arrest was issued.Keng Sokunthea, deputy director of the Interior Ministry’s penal department, said his officials arrested Ouk Sam Ol in front of ...

According to a report by the National Police’s public order department, there was an increase in deaths and a decrease in injuries compared with the previous year. There were 1,717 deaths and 6,607 injuries reported in 2016. ...

Radio broadcaster and former Beehive Party President Mam Sonando was served a summons last week by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to appear as a witness in relation to a “treason” case filed against former opposition President Kem Sokha. ...

Daun Penh district authorities have ordered a group of Kandal market vendors to move in the hopes of reopening a street that has blocked vehicular traffic for many years. ...

The Appeal Court yesterday upheld a decision by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court earlier this month to deny bail for two former Radio Free Asia reporters accused of “espionage”, with the pair’s lawyer calling the decision unfair. ...

A trove of documents left behind by law enforcement officials at a recently shuttered cockfighting ring allegedly owned by the nephew-in-law of Hun Sen appears to show organised payments to police and government officials across Kandal province. ...

At least 2 hectares of flooded mangrove forest in Koh Kong’s Peam Krasaop Wildlife Sanctuary have been filled in with sand from illegal dredging nearby, with local authorities and an NGO yesterday claiming an unidentified “powerful” tycoon was behind the environmental crimes. ...

CPP lawmaker Sar Sokha has denied any involvement in the timber trade in Prey Veng province after a depot owner used his name and that of Prime Minister Hun Sen to threaten local journalists. ...

Police in Takeo province burned more than 6,300 marijuana plants on Saturday. Authorities discovered the illegal marijuana plantation in Kirivong district after villagers tipped off local police.  ...

Nearly 1,500 people died from traffic accidents in the Kingdom during the first 10 months of this year, a minor increase over last year, though the number of injured fell significantly, according to a report by the Ministry of Interior’s National Committee for Road Safety ...