Families in Land Dispute With City Detained for Questioning

Three men locked in a land dispute with Phnom Penh authorities were questioned both by the police and the municipal court Wednesday after they were accused of destroying property on land the government has swapped with a private firm. Ly Bun Heang, said that he, his father Ly Seang Heng, and their neighbor Hing Chan were summoned by the national penal police for questioning over the dispute at the Interior Ministry. … In April, the families stopped security guards from the firm, Khun Sear Import Export Company, who were accompanied by some 50 military police, from erecting a government-approved fence around the land. … Mr. Heng’s sister, Ly Siv Ming, said the families had moved into the building in 1979 and the CPP and commune council arrived in the 1980s. In April, Boeng Kak I commune chief Rith Darith claimed that the entire property belonged to City Hall, and that because it was old and small, and because government policy now requires that commune offices and political party offices be on separate premises, the municipal government decided to sell the building to a private company. He added that four other families had accepted compensation and moved out earlier that month, but the three remaining families will not leave their homes without more compensation. …

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/families-in-land-dispute-with-city-detained-for-questioning-32193/