Law and judiciary
Legal and judicial system
Jail Sentence for Anti-Eviction Activist Upheld
The Court of Appeal on Friday upheld the guilty verdict for anti-eviction activist Yorm Bopha, but reduced her sentence from three-to two-years imprisonment, of which one year was suspended. The ruling means that Ms. Bopha will not be released until late 2014. Supporters and human rights groups ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/jail-sentence-for-anti-eviction-activist-upheld-31073/
Protesters Mix Petitions, Black Magic to Get Land
Sporting red bandanas and armed with the accoutrements of Khmer black magic, several hundred demonstrators representing embattled communities throughout the country held noisy protests outside several government offices yesterday, where they placed curses on corrupt officials and submitted written petitions demanding justice. Unlike previous protests that ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/protesters-mix-petitions-black-magic-to-get-land-30761/
Bundith Fails to Show Up at Retrial for Triple Shooting
Former Bavet City governor Chhouk Bundith failed to show up Wednesday for the first day of his long-awaited retrial at Svay Rieng Provincial Court for his alleged involvement in a shooting that left three workers wounded, court officials said. According to provincial Judge Leang Sour, Mr. ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/bundith-fails-to-show-up-at-retrial-for-triple-shooting-30758/
Hundreds are given sack for Sabrina clash
Hundreds of workers were sacked at the Sabrina Garment factory on Saturday following several violent protests at the Kampong Speu province premises and the arrest of unionists involved. The firings came after workers continued to protest outside the provincial court on Friday and Saturday demanding ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061166188/National/hundreds-are-given-sack-for-sabrina-clash.html
New claim filed against Giant Ocean
A fresh complaint has been filed against a company already before the courts for allegedly running a human-trafficking racket that sent more than 150 Cambodians onto fishing boats as virtual slaves. More than 20 men who claim they were forced to work almost without sleep and ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061166187/National/new-claim-filed-against-giant-ocean.html
Bail Requests Denied for All Eight Unionists
The Kampong Speu Provincial Court has denied bail for eight unionists accused of instigating violence at the Sabrina Garment factory last Monday. Kampong Speu Provincial Court judge, Cheum Rithy said yesterday that he had not approved the bail request because significant work remained in questioning ...
Factory Workers Demand Release of Eight After Protest
About 1,000 garment workers on Wednesday demonstrated outside Kompong Speu Provincial Court calling for the release of eight people arrested during a protest this week over wages at a factory supplying U.S. brand Nike, a union official said. Fighting between the workers on Monday displayed ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/factory-workers-demand-release-of-eight-held-after-protest-29318/
Ratanakkiri Dispute Case Drags on
A village chief and an ethnic minority Tompuon villager were the latest people brought before the Ratanakkiri court for questioning after a private company accused villagers of destroying its property. Kvas Cheav, 57, village chief of Par Or in Keh Chung commune, told the Post that ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013060666099/National/ratanakkri-dispute-case-drags-on.html
Villagers Say Company Deceived Them in Deal
Five Koh Kong families embroiled in an ongoing land dispute with Heng Huy Agriculture Company were accompanied by more than 50 villagers yesterday as they went to court to clarify why they are asking for contracts signed with the company to be annulled. Pok Yon, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013053065936/National/villagers-say-company-deceived-them-in-deal.html
Mfone Parent Firm to Consider Workers Demands
The company behind the defunct mobile operator Mfone has told its former employees that it will consider covering millions of dollars allegedly owned to them in severance pay. The former employees have vowed to keep protesting until they are paid the $44.44 million to which ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/mfone-parent-firm-to-consider-workers-demands-27821/
Tampuon File Complaint Over Forest Clearing
A community of ethnic minority Tampuon people in Ratanakkiri province yesterday filed a complaint with the provincial court against six people they believe illegally cleared 80 hectares of community forest land and sold it to a rubber investor, villagers and court officials said. The land in ...
Land Battle Headed to Court
Eight ethnic Tampuon villagers from Ratanakkiri’s Bakeo district will file a lawsuit at provincial court today alleging that more than 70 hectares of protected forest have been illegally cleared by a police official and six villagers from a neighbouring commune. Ting Kham Se, 52, of Laminh ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052765851/National/land-battle-headed-to-court.html
Subedi Urges Passage of Laws on Judiciary
U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi met with a senior official at the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday and reiterated a call for new legislation to be passed on governing Cambodia’s judiciary. “He did not ask us much on anything new, but he did ask for ...
Judge Denies Coercion Claim in Land Dispute Assault Case
A father whose three children were badly beaten by employees of a rubber plantation has accused a Ratanakkiri Provincial Court judge of threatening to send two sons, aged 14 and 21, to jail unless they accept $1,000 in compensation and drop the assault complaint. Ry Saron ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/judge-denies-coercion-claim-in-assault-case-26546/
Abused women’s support services to expand
Helping women find better employment opportunities is key to ensuring they feel able to report rape and sexual abuse, government and civil society representatives said yesterday. Although Cambodian courts are prosecuting an increasing number of cases involving violence against women, economic concerns stop many from reporting ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052265772/National/abused-women-s-support-services-to-expand.html
Ethnic villagers, firm battle over Ratanakkiri plot
A local official and four ethnic minority Tompuon villagers appeared in a Ratanakkiri court on Friday to face accusations of land-grabbing and protesting against a private company that purchased their land in 2007, authorities said yesterday. Rocham Pheun, an assistant to the chief of Keh Chung ...
Malaysian couple jailed for starving maid to death
A Malaysian Court yesterday sentenced a couple to 24 years in jail for culpable homicide after their Cambodian maid starved to death while working for them in their home on the northwest coast of Penag, Agence France Press (AFP) reported. Cambodian opposition lawmaker and former ...
Charges in Ratanakkiri arson
The Ratanakkiri Provincial Court yesterday charged two staffers of Vietnamese rubber concessionaire Hoang Anh Ratanakkiri (CRD) with causing intentional damage for allegedly setting fire to several homes belonging to a landowner with whom they were embroiled in a land dispute, deputy prosecutor Mom Vanda said. ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051665652/National/charges-in-ratanakkiri-arson.html
The canes of wrath
Satiating the demands of the global sugar industry is big business for Cambodia’s sugarcane plantations. Yet accusations of human rights abuses and land grabs in the Kingdom have left a bitter aftertaste for many on the ground as companies vie for a larger slice of ...
Private property, public greed in Cambodia
Mark Moorstein knew little about Cambodia before he got involved in a lawsuit on behalf of land owners there. But as it’s turning out, the suit could end up affecting most every country in Asia. Moorstein is a land-use lawyer in Northern Virginia who, like many ...
Committee Formed to Sell Off Mfone’s Assets
The administrator dealing with the debts of defunct mobile operator Mfone yesterday established a committee to sell off the company’s remaining assets. Since it filed for bankruptcy in January, more than 1,000 creditors, including former staff, have claimed Mfone owes them a combined $160 million. Mfone’s remaining ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/committee-formed-to-sell-off-mfones-assets-22715/
Father Suing Rubber Firm for Beating His Three Children
The father of three children attacked with wooden sticks and steel poles by employees of well-connected DM Group in Ratanakkiri province has filed a lawsuit against the firm, and is asking for tens of thousands of dollars in compensation. .. The provincial court has charged the ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/father-suing-rubber-firm-for-beating-his-three-children-22805/
Boy Beaten by Plantation Staff Sent to Vietnam for Treatment
A 14-year-old boy severely beaten by employees of a well-connected rubber plantation company in Ratanakkiri province on Saturday was sent to Vietnam for treatment for a life-threatening blood clot in his brain on Monday, according to his father, while a soldier detained in connection to ...
Sugar Firm Files Defense in Cambodian Lawsuit
British sugar firm Tate & Lyle has denied knowing of the alleged abuses at two Cambodian plantations accused of illegally driving hundreds of families off their farms and says that the families have no right to ask the company for compensation, according to the firm’s ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/uk-sugar-firm-files-defense-in-cambodian-lawsuit-21913/