Cobras Thrown Into Land Dispute Family’s Home
Three highly venomous cobras were thrown early Tuesday morning into the Phnom Penh home of a family locked in a dispute with a private company that wants to develop the family’s land in Tuol Kok district. Ly Sreang Kheng, 58, his wife Mok Siv Hong, 51, and their son, Ly Bun Heang, are one of three families refusing to leave a building in Boeng Kak I commune, that was shared by commune council and CPP offices and the families before the government swapped the property with the Khun Sear Import Export Company. The families have accused representatives from the company, which is owned by businessman Khun Sear, of waging a campaign of intimidation to force them to leave after they turned down $15,000 in compensation. … The Housing Rights Task Force and the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee on Wednesday released a joint statement condemning the incident and called on the government to prosecute the perpetrators. “Bringing several dangerous snakes [into] the houses of urban poor families is more than an act of intimidation; it’s a death threat showing the intent to kill…. Since May 2013, the residents had their property destroyed, their business demolished, their physical security threatened and violated, their water pipes and electricity cut off as well as five of their pets killed [while] no real action [was] ever taken by the local authorities against the perpetrators,” the statement says. Commune chief Vith Darith on Wednesday said that the snakes had probably been living in a nearby bush and got into the property by themselves. …
Mech Dara
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/three-cobras-thrown-into-land-dispute-familys-home-46359/
