By Ratha Visal
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
19 pieces of precious wood were confiscated by the Ta Veng commune authority and the police chief, after an attempt was made to transport them out of the area by boat.
Thong Van Sieng, the commune clerk told RFA on 10 June 2007 that Phay Sokun was the person involved, he is a police officer in the Ta Veng district. Phai Sokun and An Ley, his brother-in-law, were conducting the illegal wood trade at midnight and they were discovered by the authority which confiscated the wood and reported the case to the police.
Thong Van Sieng said: “They were hauling the wood about 2 or 3 times already when the commune councilors found them, the councilors then told the police, and the police chief came in immediately.”
RFA could not contact Phay Sokun nor his brother-in-law to obtain clarification on this charge. An Loeung, the mother-in-law of Phay Sokun denied the charge and she is now suing the commune councilors and the police officers for trespassing into her home at midnight without warrant or legal paper to confiscate the wood.
This is another new charge against an official involved in illegal trade of woods. Recently, Em Vuthy, the deputy district governor was accused by the community of illegal trade of precious wood, and Kov Phon, a military police officer, who was accused by the commune council of attempting to kill police officers involved in the fight against illegal logging.
Hor Ang, the deputy police chief of the province of Ratanakiri, said that he already received the report and the evidence already.
Sam Mok, the Ta Veng district governor, admits that the illegal trades of precious wood usually take place in the middle of the night in order to avoid detection by the community. He said that these activities were undertaken by small groups: “They conduct their activities either at dusk or at dawn only.”
Pen Bonnar, Adhoc investigator for the province of Ratanakiri, said that since May 2007, Adhoc has received 4 complaint letters from the community regarding 4 cases of illegal wood trading that involve powerful government officials from Ta Veng district. “We never saw any (government) report written about these cases nor were there any sentence handed down to the perpetrators, regardless of whether these criminals are mere villagers or powerful people.”
The trade of precious wood, as well as other valuable wood, in Cambodia, is a flashpoint for the Royal Government of Cambodia. Global Witness recently leveled its charges on illegal logging through a report titled “The family of the thieves of the Nation” (Cambodia’s family trees). In this latter report, relatives of the prime ministers were accused of involvement in illegal logging.
Thong Van Sieng, the commune clerk told RFA on 10 June 2007 that Phay Sokun was the person involved, he is a police officer in the Ta Veng district. Phai Sokun and An Ley, his brother-in-law, were conducting the illegal wood trade at midnight and they were discovered by the authority which confiscated the wood and reported the case to the police.
Thong Van Sieng said: “They were hauling the wood about 2 or 3 times already when the commune councilors found them, the councilors then told the police, and the police chief came in immediately.”
RFA could not contact Phay Sokun nor his brother-in-law to obtain clarification on this charge. An Loeung, the mother-in-law of Phay Sokun denied the charge and she is now suing the commune councilors and the police officers for trespassing into her home at midnight without warrant or legal paper to confiscate the wood.
This is another new charge against an official involved in illegal trade of woods. Recently, Em Vuthy, the deputy district governor was accused by the community of illegal trade of precious wood, and Kov Phon, a military police officer, who was accused by the commune council of attempting to kill police officers involved in the fight against illegal logging.
Hor Ang, the deputy police chief of the province of Ratanakiri, said that he already received the report and the evidence already.
Sam Mok, the Ta Veng district governor, admits that the illegal trades of precious wood usually take place in the middle of the night in order to avoid detection by the community. He said that these activities were undertaken by small groups: “They conduct their activities either at dusk or at dawn only.”
Pen Bonnar, Adhoc investigator for the province of Ratanakiri, said that since May 2007, Adhoc has received 4 complaint letters from the community regarding 4 cases of illegal wood trading that involve powerful government officials from Ta Veng district. “We never saw any (government) report written about these cases nor were there any sentence handed down to the perpetrators, regardless of whether these criminals are mere villagers or powerful people.”
The trade of precious wood, as well as other valuable wood, in Cambodia, is a flashpoint for the Royal Government of Cambodia. Global Witness recently leveled its charges on illegal logging through a report titled “The family of the thieves of the Nation” (Cambodia’s family trees). In this latter report, relatives of the prime ministers were accused of involvement in illegal logging.
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