Court Extends Fee-Payment Deadline n K Chhnang Land Dispute

1 September 2011
The Cambodia Daily
Energy / Energy policy and administration / Generation and distribution facilities / Judiciary and courts / Land
Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee / Chea Kheng / Chuon Sivin / KDC Development company / Ministry of Industry Mines and Energy / Suon Sareth / Suy Sem / Tieng Sotha / villagers

Kompong Chhnang Provincial Court has extended a deadline for 52 villagers embroiled in a long-standing land dispute with a development company owned by the wife of Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy Suy Sem to pay court fees, a court official and rights workers said yesterday. Earlier this month, the court ordered villagers from Lor Peang village who filed civil complaints demanding a return of their land to pay court fees of up to $155 each. The villagers requested waivers, saying they are too poor to pay the fees. The dispute between villagers and the KDC Development company, owned by Chea Kheng, has been ongoing since 1997, when Ms Kheng filed a complaint at the court claiming ownership of the 214-hectare plot in Taaches commune.