Law and judiciary
In Cambodia, Cyber Casinos Fall Into a Legal Gray Area
In 2010, the Ha Tien Vegas Entertainment Resort, a casino investment on Kampot province’s border with Vietnam that included luxury karaoke rooms and suites, launched with high hopes of attracting Vietnamese gamblers. At the end of December, Ha Tien Vegas closed down. To the north, in ...
Brokers arrested after terrified workers flee
Three brokers were arrested and sent to Koh Kong court yesterday, charged with trafficking 17 Cambodians to Thailand with the intention of sending them on to another country, officials and victims said. According to Soa Samnang, 46, he and 16 other villagers, the majority from Andong ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/brokers-arrested-after-terrified-workers-flee
Mfone workers paid, a little
After months of protests, more than 1,000 former Mfone employees yesterday received just 10 per cent of the $4.4 million they were demanding in compensation after the telecom company filed for bankruptcy in January. Court-appointed administrator Ouk Ry, entrusted with the sale of Mfone’s assets, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/mfone-workers-paid-little
Astra Says Gold Exploration Project Still On
An Australia-based firm that announced a plan to explore for gold in Ratanakkiri province insisted Monday that its Cambodian venture is still on track, despite allegations made in an Australian newspaper that it has garnered investment based on false information. Astra Resources, which has companies incorporated ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/astra-says-gold-exploration-project-still-on-36194/
Bandith appeals while on the lam
Former Bavet town governor Chhouk Bandith has appealed — from hiding — his conviction for shooting three women at a protest earlier last year, his lawyer said. His attorney, Sun Bunnarith, said that he had filed the appeal about two weeks ago, and that Bandith’s ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/bandith-appeals-while-lam
UK Lawsuit Against Sugar Firm Heading to Trial
A lawsuit filed by families in Koh Kong province accusing U.K. sugar giant Tate & Lyle of wrongfully profiting off land stolen from them is heading to trial after efforts to mediate a settlement fell through earlier this month, according to those involved. Law firm Jones ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/uk-lawsuit-against-sugar-firm-heading-to-trial-35233/
No bail for Sabrina unionists
According to defence lawyer Kao Ty, the court decided to uphold the decision of the provincial court in a closed-door hearing last Friday. “They said if those eight members and workers were released on bail, they would cause a problem again,” he said, adding that ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/no-bail-sabrina-unionists
Telecom CEOs Say Debts to Mfone Are Far Less
Executives at some of the telecommunication firms indebted to bankrupt mobile operator Mfone said Thursday they owe much less than claimed by the company, and will negotiate with Mfone’s administrator to find a resolution before a complaint is filed in court. “We do owe Mfone money, ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/telecom-ceos-say-debts-to-mfone-are-far-less-34630/
Mfone to File Complaint Against Six Companies
Bankrupt mobile phone operator Mfone is planning to file a complaint with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court against six telecommunications firms it says have failed to pay back more than $1 million in outstanding debt to the firm, the court administrator charged with overseeing Mfone’s ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/mfone-to-file-complaint-against-six-companies-34409/
Families complain governor’s crooked
More than 30 families evicted from a former airport site in Preah Vihear province’s Chea Ksan district have filed four complaints with the provincial court since April against district governor Sok Hay. Lor Chan, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said a total of 31 families ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013070966736/National/families-complain-governor-s-crooked.html
Hundreds demonstrate on activist’s behalf
Two days before a land activist’s scheduled sentencing, about 400 people affected by land grabs demonstrated at Pursat Provincial Court in support of the man who frequently protests against the Pheap Imex Company. About 12,000 families are now involved in land disputes around a Pheap ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013070966735/National/hundreds-demonstrate-on-activist-s-behalf.html
Anti-trafficking laws under-enforced: NGO
Rem Vannak remains in poor health after enduring about two years of 21-hour days working for no pay on a fishing boat in Fiji, where he was beaten when he complained. Lin Yu Shin, who owns Giant Ocean – the company Vannak worked for that allegedly ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013070466659/National/anti-trafficking-laws-under-enforced-ngo.html
Ministry, NGOs Meet Over Trafficking Report
Ministry of Interior officials held a closed-door meeting Monday with NGO representatives to contest Cambodia’s recent downgrade on the U.S. State Department’s Global Trafficking in Persons Report, which the ministry will discuss in a meeting with the U.S. Embassy this week. The annual report, released last ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ministry-ngos-meet-over-trafficking-report-32932/
‘Master Plan’ Drawn for Phnom Penh Public Transport System
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) met with Phnom Penh municipal authorities last month to present the first stage of a “master plan” for the construction of a much-needed public transport system for the capital. Masato Koto, chief of mission for JICA’s transportation planning group in ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/master-plan-drawn-for-phnom-penh-public-transport-system-32712/
Desperate families pursue final options
Families who claim a foreigner fabricated documents to sell their land to port officials and a military commander more than seven years ago have desperately appealed to government bodies to intervene. The 104 families who have exhausted legal avenues after both the provincial and Supreme Court ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062866543/National/desperate-families-pursue-final-options.html
Former Cambodia governor jailed in absentia for shooting three factory workers
A Cambodian court sentenced a former governor in absentia to 18 months in prison for shooting three female workers at a factory supplying sportswear giant Puma, a judge said yesterday. The women, employees of Puma supplier Kaoway Sports, were wounded when someone opened fire on protesters ...
http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1268733/ex-cambodian-official-convicted-absentia
Group Considers Complaint Against Sugar Giant
A London-based sugar trade association aiming to promote a more ethical and sustainable industry will meet early next month to consider a request from Cambodian farmers that it eject U.K.-based sugar firm Tate & Lyle from the group unless it gives them back their land. Some ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/group-considers-complaint-against-sugar-giant-32001/
Illegal cosmetics chemicals trashed
Government officials yesterday disposed of some 30 tonnes of chemical substances they said Chinese nationals had intended to sell illegally as cosmetics. Long Sreng, deputy chief of the Interior Ministry’s anti-economic crime department, said authorities seized the chemicals – some of which already were falsely packaged ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062566459/National/illegal-cosmetics-chemicals-trashed.html
Fraud Case Highlights Bribery Around Requests for Citizenship
The Court of Appeal on Monday acquitted a South Korean businessman who allegedly stole $50,000 that was supposed to be used to acquire Cambodian citizenship for his boss in 2007. Koo Bonkwang, the former president of Commerce Central Finance, a microlender, said he paid the money ...
Six Cambodian Loggers Killed in One Month
The Ministry of Interior has said six Cambodians were shot dead by Thai forces in the course of a month, in a rare report outlining the impact of the ongoing trade in luxury rosewood, and authorities’ efforts to curb it. The report also says that ...
Opposition Asks Donors to Stop Work With Government
Lawmakers from the opposition SRP and Human Rights Party who were expelled from Parliament earlier this month have called on the foreign diplomatic corps and international donors to stop signing agreements and conducting other business with the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen. In a letter ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/elections/opposition-asks-donors-to-stop-work-with-government-31421/
Despite Law, Minority Rights Receive Very Few Protections
The government does little to protect the rights and livelihoods of the country’s many ethnic minorities who are under constant threat from rapid development, representatives of indigenous groups said yesterday. “We have polices laws and guidelines to protect indigenous people, but we see that it doesn’t ...
Tourists in trouble rise
Crimes and traffic accidents of which tourists were the victims increased by 33 per cent in the first six months of 2013, compared with the same period last year. Tourism Police Department director Nhearn Vibol said that 396 tourists had fallen victim to crime and motor ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062066385/National/tourists-in-trouble-rise.html
Judge forces sparse settlement on family of beaten children
The Ratanakkiri Provincial Court yesterday forced a family whose three children were allegedly beaten by DM Group firm employees last month to accept only $1,000 in compensation in place of the $40,000 the family initially had demanded, the children’s father claimed. Ry Sarun, 52, said that ...