Crime and law enforcement

Anti-human trafficking police are seeking the arrest of prominent Cham Muslim community leader and former Social Affairs Ministry official Ahmad Yahya for sending roughly 20 women to Saudi Arabia to work as maids more than a decade ago, after arresting his nephew last week. ...

Former Cambodia National Rescue Party member Ismail Pin Osman was arrested in Phnom Penh on Wednesday for alleged human trafficking, though police officials offered little detail on why he was taken into custody. ...

An investigating judge has rejected Kem Sokha’s request that he interview a representative from the US government in connection with the former opposition leader’s “treason” case, despite the fact that Sokha stands accused of plotting a US-backed overthrow of the Cambodian government. ...

Military police, forestry administration officers and Wildlife Alliance officials on Wednesday raided a house in Pursat province used to facilitate the illegal wildlife trade, seizing nearly 80 kilos of snakes. ...

Senior government figures yesterday noted major flaws in an ongoing drug crackdown, among them a lack of rehabilitation for incarcerated users, during a day-long review of the campaign yesterday. The government also proposed establishing five ill-defined “white villages” – or drug-free locations – on the ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy has accused a Kandal province businessman of defamation and operating an illegal digging site, a few weeks after he allegedly shot into the ground to scare off officials trying to inspect his land. ...

Five more suspects have been arrested and are being interrogated by authorities in relation to the murder of three forest patrollers last Tuesday in Mondulkiri’s Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, authorities confirmed yesterday. ...

Police in Mondulkiri province yesterday arrested a military officer who is a suspect in a shooting that killed three people during an operation to crack down on illegal logging. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen delivered a fiery speech yesterday, threatening to “attack” members of the opposition with Soviet-era rocket launchers, while also claiming he would arrest them anywhere in Asia. ...

China’s growing presence and investment in a fast-developing Cambodian port and province have pushed up the crime rate and brought instability, its governor said in a letter to the government. ...

The Preah Vihear Provincial Court has sent a man suspected of illegal logging in the Preah Vihear temple forestry conservation area to pre-trial detention, according to the provincial Environment Department. ...

Preah Sihanouk provincial authorities have warned tourist boat companies they will be shut down if they operate without legal permission or fail to join the tourist boat association.The warning came after a meeting between provincial councilors, provincial authorities, representatives of the tourist boat association, and ...

The mothers of two environmental activists, who have languished in prison since their September arrest, yesterday delivered petitions to various ministries in Phnom Penh seeking intervention. ...

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has appointed his son-in-law as deputy national police chief, in a move apparently aimed at consolidating his power ahead of an election this year. ...

Three prominent civil society members have been charged with “breach of trust” for allegedly misappropriating funds raised for slain political activist Kem Ley’s funeral, despite the fact that nobody in Ley’s family filed a complaint.​ ...

Australian filmmaker James Ricketson, who has spent more than seven months in Cambodian prison on allegations of “espionage”, had a ruling on his final bid for bail delayed at the Supreme Court today. ...

Cambodian People’s Party spokesman Chhim Phal Virun has been called as a witness in the controversial “treason” case against jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha. ...

More than 16,000 cannabis plants were destroyed in the forests of Takeo’s Kiri Vong district on Tuesday, according to police. ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng has warned the government could take legal action against former opposition leader Sam Rainsy and others involved in the launch of the new Cambodia National Rescue Movement. ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng publicly chided the Transportation Ministry yesterday over the poor quality of National Road 8 and the ministry’s failure to maintain the eastbound highway that cuts across Prey Veng province, where Kheng is the head of the ruling CPP’s working group. ...

A National Police officer who beat up a traffic policeman on Tuesday for reprimanding him for running a red light was sent to pre-trial detention by Phnom Penh Municipal Court this afternoon and faces the preliminary charge of “intentional violence”. ...

Police in Siem Reap province yesterday arrested 20 boys and young men pretending to be Buddhist monks in order to beg for money.Huot Sothy, deputy provincial police chief overseeing criminal offences, said officers had followed the group for a while before getting permission to crack ...

Former Deputy Prime Minister Lu Lay Sreng, who has been abroad since October, has been summonsed to appear in Phnom Penh Municipal Court for a defamation hearing on January 25. Lay Sreng, 77, was sued for defamation by his former party, Funcinpec, and Prime Minister ...

Outspoken government critic Kim Sok was rejected bail at the Supreme Court this morning, with the prosecutor arguing that to grant Sok early release from an 18-month prison sentence would cause “chaos” in society. ...