Law and judiciary

Two activists from the conservation group Mother Nature were tried yesterday in Koh Kong for photographing a vessel at sea, with their lawyer asking the court to dismiss the charges due to a lack of evidence that they had committed any crime. ...

Former Funcinpec official and ex-Deputy Prime Minister Lu Lay Sreng was found guilty in absentia of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen today for comments made in a private phone conversation that was secretly recorded and disseminated without his knowledge. ...

Social media celebrity and card-carrying CPP member Thy Sovantha yesterday said she will file a lawsuit against wildlife NGO head Suwanna Gauntlett alleging discrimination after the latter allegedly denied her access to an ecotourism program the group is launching today in Koh Kong province.​ ...

Preah Sihanouk provincial authorities have warned tourist boat companies they will be shut down if they operate without legal permission or fail to join the tourist boat association.The warning came after a meeting between provincial councilors, provincial authorities, representatives of the tourist boat association, and ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday called on the government to amend the law on nationalisation and immigration, while a report from the general department of identification revealed 1,518 foreigners were granted Cambodian nationality from 2014 to 2017. Presiding over the department’s annual meeting, Mr Kheng ...

The Labour Ministry is planning to launch a national policy to cut the number of traffic accidents involving garment workers being driven to and from factories. The policy will encourage employers and drivers to prioritise road safety. Labour Minister Ith Samheng yesterday addressed a workshop on the ...

The mothers of two environmental activists, who have languished in prison since their September arrest, yesterday delivered petitions to various ministries in Phnom Penh seeking intervention. ...

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has appointed his son-in-law as deputy national police chief, in a move apparently aimed at consolidating his power ahead of an election this year. ...

Court cases and investigations involving former Cambodia National Rescue Party officials are continuing apace, with new charges laid against opposition leader Sam Rainsy, another appeal for bail filed on behalf of jailed party leader Kem Sokha and a National Police spokesman saying yesterday that the ...

Three prominent civil society members have been charged with “breach of trust” for allegedly misappropriating funds raised for slain political activist Kem Ley’s funeral, despite the fact that nobody in Ley’s family filed a complaint.​ ...

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. ...

Both unionists and private sector representatives are unhappy with draft amendments to Cambodia’s Labour Law, which would overhaul the regulations surrounding worker contracts and guaranteed employee protections. ...

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. ...