Borei Keila protester summonsed to court

Suy Sophan (L) in her gaudy attire (DAP-news)

Friday, 31 August 2012
Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post

A Borei Keila protester received a summons yesterday to come to Phnom Penh Municipal Court to address a complaint of “incitement to commit a crime” filed by Suy Sophan, director of the Phanimex company, which evicted the Borei Keila families in January.

Borei Keila resident Tim Sakmony, who has already accepted compensation from Phanimex, said she received the summons after meeting with company head Suy Sophan on Wednesday evening to discuss compensation for her evicted son, on whose behalf she had continued to protest.

“Suy Sophan asked why I protested when I already had a house,” said Sakmony, who maintained that her son, a disabled soldier, should have also been eligible for compensation. “I told her that I never announced that I didn’t get a house or was protesting for one, but that the protest was for my son, because he’s sick and could not speak much.”

And at their meeting Wed­nesday night, she added, Sophan seemingly agreed.

“She offered my son US$1,000 and a house in Tuol Sambo, Dangkor district, but I did not say anything, and only told her that I would ask my son.”

The citation arrived the next morning.

Deputy prosecutor Sieng Sok said that despite signing the summons, he had not studied Sophan’s complaint against Sakmony.

“We also want to know how this case happened, so I summonsed the party in this case to come [to court],” he said.

Sakmony said that she didn’t know what crime she could have committed, but suspects the summons was related to not accepting the compensation.

According to her assistant, Suy Sophan was “busy in a meeting” yesterday, and could not be reached.