Conviction against ‘Grandma Crocodile’ upheld

23 April 2014
The Cambodia Daily
Civil and commercial litigation / Judiciary and courts / Land / Land policy and administration / Land tenure and land titling / Law and judiciary
Chhin Sokountheary / Court of Appeal / Kep Chuktema / Ly Yong Phat / Phnom Penh Court

The Court of Appeal on Tuesday upheld a 2012 conviction of encroaching on public land, but significantly reduced the sentence, against businesswoman Chhin Sokountheary for illegally filling in part of a Phnom Penh lake. Ms. Sokountheary—also known as Grandma Crocodile for the crocodile farm she owns—was sentenced in absentia in 2012 to four and a half years in jail and ordered to pay 30 million riel in fines and 60 million riel in compensation, about $7,500 and $15,000, respectively. She has always denied the charge of encroachment, claiming that then-Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema stole her land with the intent of selling it to sugar magnate Ly Yong Phat. …

 Eang Mengleng
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/conviction-against-grandma-crocodile-upheld-57088/