General in land dispute with another General

28 April 2014
The Cambodia Daily
Crime and law enforcement / Domestic investors / Economy and commerce / Government / Investment / Judiciary and courts / Land / Land policy and administration / Land tenure and land titling / Law and judiciary / Laws and regulations / Ministries and other national bodies / Ministry of National Defense
Chamkar Mon District / Doeun Sovann / Hun Sen / Kim Hab / Major General Chea Dara / Phnom Penh Municipal Court / PJ Prison / RCAF / Royal Cambodian Armed Forces / Supreme Court

A two-star army general was arrested Friday on charges of defamation because he lost a court case over a dispute with a land broker and a formerly high-ranking police official, his lawyer said. Major General Chea Dara’s lawyer, Put Theavy, said yesterday that the dispute began in 2009, when his client was employed by a company called Kim Hab to help buy a parcel of land in Chamkar Mon district. Maj. Gen. Dara paid a total of $5 million to a broker, Chuob Chan, and a three-star police general, Doeun Sovann, to facilitate the purchase. However, when the land turned out to already be owned by another company, the two men allegedly refused to return the $5 million to his client, Mr. Theavy said. … “Sometime in 2013, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Mr. Dara to eight months in jail and an 80 million riel [$20,000] fine for defamation, and the Supreme Court has upheld the Phnom Penh court’s decision,” Mr. Theavy said. Following the Supreme Court verdict on Friday, Maj. Gen. Dara was sent to PJ prison to serve out his sentence.

 Eang Mengleng
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/general-in-land-dispute-with-another-general-57522/