1,000 hectare land grab alleged
Villagers in Preah Sihanouk province have accused a businessman of bulldozing almost 1,000 hectares of their farm land in complaints filed to relevant authorities and the provincial court last week. Pin Lean Hun, a village representative, said yesterday rice paddies, vegetable patches and jackfruit trees on 40-hectare plots belonging to 49 families in Stung Hav district’s Keo Pos village were destroyed when businessmen Cheam Pen cleared the land on June 22. But Stung Hav district governor, Ban Sarom, rejected allegations yesterday that Cheam Pen had encroached on the villagers’ property, saying district authorities, court officials and members of the cadastral survey commission had observed the land clearing.
