Appeal Court Upholds Guilty Verdict in Land Dispute
The Appeal Court on Tuesday upheld its own previous guilty verdict against a farmer from Kompong Chhnang province for defaming KDC, the agri-business firm owned by Chea Kheng, the wife of Industry, Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem. Pheng Rom is a member of one of 64 families locked in a land dispute with KDC over 145 hectares of land in Kompong Chhnang since 2007. The provincial court found Mr. Rom guilty of defamation in January 2011, and the Appeal court followed suit in September. Mr. Rom was convicted by the appeal court in absentia however, and was allowed to challenge the ruling because the court never informed him of the hearing. …
