Four Men Arrested for Illegal Clearing of National Forest
Police in Kompong Chhnang Province arrested four men and confiscated two bulldozers Tuesday for illegally clearing more than 10 hectares of national forest in the Toek Phos district, officials said yesterday. District Police Chief Kim Sareth said that police apprehended the four laborers in Chorng Morng commune after they cleared three different sections of forest in the commune. Ben Bollina, director of Romeas Forestry Administration Division, who helped in the investigation of the illegal clearing, said that the men in custody referred to their foremen as “Nim” and “Khim.” “We are trying to find out who gave the order to clear the land,” he said. Mr. Bollina added that the government granted a land concession covering the cleared areas to Pheapimex Co Ltd, but that the land was being held until the company owns the area.
