Not all buildings created equal [-Do as I say, not as I do: Hun Xen]

Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks on Tuesday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of National Road 6 in Phnom Penh. Pha Lina/Phnom Penh Post

Thursday, 16 February 2012
May Titthara with additional reporting by David Boyle
The Phnom Penh Post

When Prime Minister Hun Sen warned two government ministers that trading their ministry’s public buildings could cost them their jobs last week, he had already signed off on four such exchanges himself, the latest royal book shows.

Last Tuesday, the premier publicly berated information minister Khieu Kanaharith and Culture and Fine Arts Minister Him Chhem for attempting to trade the Agency Kampuchea Press and National Library buildings, respectively.

But on January 26, the premier signed off on reclassifications of the National Audit Authority, Ministry of Health, Central Medicine Warehouse and National Radio Station into state-private property.

Last days of the Renaksé Hotel in Phnom Penh [-Land sold by the CPP to Hun Sen's crony]

Photo Pring Samrang

01-10-2008
By F.A. and U.Ch.
Cambodge Soir Hebdo in English
Click here to read the article in French

Built during the 1930’s, the huge colonial building which houses the Renaksé Hotel has been sold last week by its owner, the Cambodian People’s Party. Its tenant has been asked to move out before the end of the month, the lady is however decided not to budge. The earthen pot against the iron pot?

These are the last days of the Renaksé Hotel, undoubtedly the most beautiful property in Phnom Penh and perhaps even in whole Cambodia. Located between the Royal Palace and the river, the building and its wings are housing this hotel since the end of the 1980’s. The woman in charge, Kem Chantha, has been requested to wrap her things and leave the keys to the new owner; a private company. Last week, a note at the entrance wall of the hotel mentioned that this land, property of the CPP, had been sold to a private company, Alexan Inc. This company allegedly belongs to the daughter of Yeay Phou, owner of the Pheapimex company, whose husband is a senator and advisor of the Prime Minister and main investor in the real-estate project which will replace the Boeung Kak Lake.

“This morning, the lawyer of Min Kin, new Minister of Cults and Religious Affairs, displayed a new circular notice at the entrance of the hotel to inform me that I had to leave by the end of the month”, declared the tenant with a trembling voice to Cambodge Soir Hebdo. The Ministry of Cults is located next to the hotel.

In reaction to this ultimatum, Kem Chantha declares being determined not to leave the premises. “They’re accusing me of not having done maintenance works. This is a lie and I can prove it. I have all the invoices”, she said, adding that she has a lease contract until the end of April 2050. The tenant declares having offered the CPP to buy the property. “My company had the means to offer much more than the 3.8 million dollars that they would have accepted, according to what I heard from this buyer. On the other hand they’re offering me 200,000 dollars to leave. This is unacceptable”. However, Kem Chantha has no illusion concerning her chances to score a victory.

According to the price per square meter in this neighbourhood, the property is evaluated by experts to be worth between 28 and 32 million dollars, in other words ten times more than the announced rate.

The future of this remnant from the colonial period is uncertain. There are talks to build residencies for government officials, but nothing has been decided yet. It could be demolished as well. This wouldn’t be the first colonial building to be torn down in town.

When Thailand purchased the land on Norodom Boulevard, north of the Chbar Ampoeul bridge, it demolished the imposing colonial structures which stood under century old trees in order to build the current embassy in a style that could be qualified as modern. Some people had reacted, albeit timidly, asking for at least one house to be spared in order to turn it into the Ambassador’s residency, but nobody listened to them…

19 charged in Cambodia over trying to sell a public building

September 29, 2008
ABC Radio Australia

In Cambodia, 19 people including a senior ranking defence official have been charged after trying to sell off a public building.

The Phnom Penh Municipal court has heard the 19 defendants used forged documents in their attempt to sell the Fisheries Administration offices in the capital.

The Phnom Penh Post reports the attempted fraud highlights a growing problem of illegal land speculation in the country.

In Fisheries Office Fraud, Impunity Worries

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
26 September 2008

The office of the fisheries department of the Ministry of Agriculture sits on nearly one hectare of land on Norodom Boulevard in Phnom Penh’s Chamkar Mon district. The large office building has been a workplace for fisheries officials since 1979.

The building and the land underneath it—worth millions of dollars in today’s real estate market—became the focus of an expansive investigation by police and military police this week, after they arrested 18 people allegedly involved in a scheme to sell the land through forged government documents.

Now the people who work in and around the office say they fear the alleged perpetrators, some of whom are a part of the government, will be released.

Inside the fisheries office compound on Thursday evening, Pom Sok Hot, a 27-year-old staff administrator, was incensed at the attempted sale.

“If someone is found not guilty, he should be released. But any person found to be involved in forging government documents should not be released,” she said. “If the person found guilty is released, that is injustice.”

Nearby, a roadside motorcycle repairman, Soeung Rithy, 39, said he worried that powerful and wealthy people would be released.

“Frankly speaking, I’m afraid there could be corruption,” he said.

RCAF Lt. Col. Saphon Dara was charged at Phnom Penh Municipal Court Wednesday with document forgery. His mother, Neang Sovanny, was charged in absentia for the same crime. Seventeen others, including Lt. Col. Men Vichet, deputy commander of RCAF infantry, and three other military officers, were charged with the use of forged documents.

A military policeman told VOA Khmer on condition of anonymity that Saphon Dara was found with a forged letter purporting to come from the Council of Ministers and offering a sale of the fisheries office.

Copies of the letter were distributed to Phnom Penh land brokers seeking buyers for the office, and one copy found its way to Men Vichet, the policeman alleged.

Offers to buy the land would have been tempting. Land situated on main boulevards, such as Norodom, command a high price in Phnom Penh’s booming real estate market.

Soeng Bunna, who owns Bunna Realty Group, said Friday land on the main boulevards, attractive for large business developments or even embassy construction, fetches up to $4,000 per square meter.

That means the fisheries department land, which is nearly 9,000 square meters, could have been worth up to $36 million.

By last week, reports of the fraudulent letter had reached Prime Minister Hun Sen, who ordered authorities to find the forgers and arrest them.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, police and military police called in 22 people for questioning, sending 18 to the courts, along with Saphon Dara, who was arrested Monday.

Police are still searching for Neang Sovanny.

Police Arrest Second Officer in Land Scam

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
23 September 2008

Police have arrested a second infantry officer suspected of involvement in an alleged plot to sell state land in Phnom Penh with forged documents, officials said Tuesday.

National police arrested Lt. Col. Saphon Dara, 34, an RCAF infantry officer, at his home on Monday, said Brig. Gen. Mok Phito, director of the penal crime department of the Ministry of Interior.

Saphon Sara is the son of Neang Sovanny and Nou Sophonn, who are being sought as the “masterminds” behind a plot to sell the offices of the Agriculture Ministry’s fishery administration on Norodom Boulevard using forged documents, military police commander Gen. Sao Sokha said Tuesday.

“I believe the two of them are still in the country, but they are trying to flee the country,” he said. “I hope we will arrest the two of them soon.”

Neang Sovanny, and her husband, Nou Sophonn, owned a real estate company known alternately as Hun Yany or Hun Many, employing the name “Hun” to attract high-ranking leaders by appearing to be linked with Prime Minister Hun Sen, Sao Sokha said.

Military police are holding four suspected members of the plot, including Lt. Gen. Men Vichet, deputy commander of RCAF infantry, and national police are holding another 18 suspects, officials said.

Mok Phito said the Interior Ministry has filed a complaint with Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

Military Police Question 22 in Land Racket

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
22 September 2008

Military police on Monday were holding 22 people, including a senior armed forces commander, for questioning in connection to the alleged sale of state land using forged documents across Phnom Penh.

Lt. Gen. Men Vichet, deputy commander of RCAF infantry, was among those being questioned, Military Police Commander Gen. Sao Sokha said.

Others being questioning included senior government, military and police officials and land brokers, Sao Sokha said. He declined to give more specific information on the names or ranks of officials.

The men are being questioned in connection to a criminal operation in which land brokers worked closely with senior officials to falsely sell state land with forged titles, Sao Sokha said.

Gen. Meas Sophea, commander of the RCAF infantry, confirmed Monday his subordinate, Men Vichet, had been called in for questioning at military police headquarters, but he could not confirm whether the questioning was related to forged land documents.

The arrest follows a public announcement Wednesday by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who said many government officials were involved in forging land documents.

The 22 men were called in for questioning on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and all of them were being held at military police headquarters on Monday, Sao Sokha said.

None has been charged, but a continuing investigation is underway, he said.