High Quality Timber Smuggled to Vietnam with Protection from Influential Persons

20 Dec 07
By Koet Samrach
Moneakseka Khmer
Translated from Khmer and posted online

Moneakseka Khmer has already published two issues exposing the protection provided by Ney Charei, deputy governor of Kandal province who is a brother-in-law of Kun Kim, deputy supreme commander of the armed forces and a close confidant of Hun Sen, for illegal timber merchants who have been smuggling luxury wood to Vietnam through the Chrey Thom border pass in Kaoh Thom district, Kandal province. After Moneakseka Khmer's successive reports, an official of Kandal province's Agriculture Office who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Ney Charei, deputy governor of Kandal province, and his elder sister known as Chae [sister] Ri, have continued to carry on their protection providing activities with unaltered arrogance. As for the authorities along the Bassak River and National Route 21, none of them dare to raise any objection to the merchants who are shipping luxury wood in boats, motorboats, and cars for sale to the Vietnamese via the Chrey Thom border pass because they are afraid of the influence of Kun Kim's brother-in-law Ney Charei.

The same Agriculture Office official further said that Ney Charei and his sibling Chae Ri can provide protection for the dishonest timber merchants to smuggle luxury wood to Vietnam with utter confidence because there is also the complicity of the Forest Administration chief of Kandal province, Mam Sarin, helping everything to proceed so smoothly. Without the complicity of Kandal province's Forest Administration chief, Ney Charei and his sister Chae Ri can not be the protectors of the dishonest timber merchants so overtly like this. In particular, Ney Charei relies on his being a brother-in-law of Kun Kim, deputy supreme commander of the armed forces and a close confidant of Hun Sen, in order for him to dare to do whatever he pleases.

The official at the Agriculture Office of Kandal province disclosed that head of the Forest Administration Ti Sokun and Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun knew very well that the deputy governor of Kandal province, Ney Charei, has connived with the chief of Kandal province's Forest Administration in allowing the dishonest merchants to smuggle luxury wood to Vietnam through the Chrey Thom pass. However, in their personal interests, Ti Sokun and Chan Sarun have remained quiet and acted as if they see nothing, hear nothing, and are aware of nothing concerning the anarchic shipments of luxury wood by the dishonest timber merchants to Vietnam through the Chrey Thom border pass. Besides, Ti Sokun and Chan Sarun are afraid of the authority of Kun Kim, deputy supreme commander of the armed forces and head of Hun Sen's advisory board. So, they just shut up so that no one's interests would be harmed.

According to a source familiar with Ney Charei, this deputy governor of Kandal province and his sister dare to protect the dishonest merchants' smuggling of luxury wood to Vietnam through the Chrey Thom border pass because they enjoy the complicity of the head of the international Chrey Thom pass customs office named Pheang. And this head of the customs office at Chrey Thom dares to collude with the deputy governor of Kandal province because he has received green light from the arch corrupt chairman of the Customs Service, Pen Simorn. It is for these reasons that the dishonest merchants can smuggle luxury wood via boats, motorboats, and cars to Vietnam through the Chrey Thom border pass, shipping hundreds of cubic meters of wood every night without fearing anything or anybody.

A Cabinet official of the Kandal provincial hall who asked to remain anonymous told Moneakseka Khmer that currently Ney Charei and his sister, Chae Ri, are notoriously known as the protectors of dishonest traders who smuggle luxury wood to Vietnam through Chrey Thom. Even Chhun Sirun, installed by Hun Sen as governor of Kandal province after firing Khim Bo, does not dare to raise a finger against Ney Charei because he is afraid of Kun Kim, a close confidant of Hun Sen. This has greatly emboldened Ney Charei and Chae Ri into doing whatever they want, for no one dares to say a word against them.

The same Cabinet official of the Kandal provincial hall further hinted that nowadays Chhun Sirun can only silently look at the activities of Ney Charei and Chae Ri without daring to open his mouth because staying mum would bring him some benefit. If he dares to touch Ney Charei it would mean he dares to face off Kun Kim. For this reason, Chhun Sirun has preferred to stay mum so that he still can eat some good foods by letting Ney Charei and Chae Ri do whatever they please rather than open up his mouth and risk losing his teeth.

As for Ruy Chhunli, head of the Cabinet of the Kandal provincial hall who is known to be a relatively influential person, he too dares not antagonize Ney Charei and Chae Ri, for fear of being removed from his seat as head of the Cabinet of the Kandal provincial hall without prior notice.

According to an official of the Agriculture Office of Kandal Province, Chrey Thom, Kandal Stoeng district, Kandal province is not the only border pass through which the dishonest timber merchants with strong backing have been smuggling luxury wood for sale in Vietnam. The smuggling also takes place through the K'am Samnar pass in Leuk Dek district, Kandal province. The most notorious trader who brings luxury wood to Vietnam through this K'am Samnar pass is Lach Tuch. Everybody on the west bank of Neak Loeung knows Lach Tuch very well. This man has been a veteran smuggler of luxury wood through the K'am Samnar pass. He has been at it for so long that he can afford to buy the title of Oknha with the proceeds from his illegal business.

Sources further said that Lach Tuch has been able to smuggle luxury wood to Vietnam through the K'am Samnar pass and has become so prosperous because of this illegal trade thanks to the complicity and well synchronized cooperation of the local police and the competent authorities at all levels, from top to bottom. Even the economic police have been seen taking money from Lach Tuch on a regular basis. Moreover, Lach Tuch has been regularly paying the provincial police commissioner, provincial military commander, provincial Military Police commander, provincial governor, and heads of other branches so that they would leave him alone to his business.

Those who have been monitoring the activities of trader Lach Tuch said that all types of competent authorities have been seen flocking the house and timber depot of this merchant to touch their regular payments without a trace of inhibition. As for the head of the Customs Office of K'am Samnar, he also accepts rich kickbacks from businessman Lach Tuch. For these reasons, this trader has been permitted to smuggle luxury wood to Vietnam without any obstacle. The sources have not mentioned the name of the ringleaders behind Lach Tuch, unlike the main backers of the smugglers of wood to Vietnam through the Chrey Thom pass who are well known to the public.

Observers have said that the dishonest merchants whose business is to smuggle luxury wood to Vietnam through the Chrey Thom pass are not afraid of the police along the Bassak River and National Route 21 because they rely on Ney Charei and Chae Ri as their protectors. The authorities concerned are so afraid of Ney Charei that just by hearing his name they already almost want to piss in their pants because they know that Ney Charei is a Kun Kim brother-in-law. Consequently, fearing nothing and nobody Ney Charei is using the title of deputy governor of Kandal province to provide protection for the illegal timber merchants.

Kun Kim Said Behind Timber Smuggled in Boats Towing Dragon-Boats to Phnom Penh

Left to Right: 4-star General Kun Kim, Chan Sarun, and Touch Naroth

23 Nov 07
By Savery
Sralanh Khmer
Translated from Khmer and posted online

The crime of transporting good quality timber from the provinces to timber depots in Phnom Penh takes place everyday before this timber is smuggled out of the country and sold in Vietnam, China, and a number of other foreign black markets. The timber transporting traders claim that they enjoy the backing of the wives of high-ranked government officials, police or army generals, or relatives of Prime Minister Hun Sen, as well as senior officials in the Agriculture Ministry.

During the recent Water and Moon Festivals this year some of the large motorboats that towed the dragon-boats for the race in Phnom Penh hid luxury wood in their hulls with some of them reportedly smuggling hundreds of cubic meters of high-priced timber in this manner. In the timber shipment via the motorboats towing the dragon-boats to Phnom Penh this time some timber merchants claimed that four-star General Kun Kim, deputy supreme commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and one of the officials closest to Prime Minister Hun Sen, was the main share holder in their business.

Sources said that there were about 10 motorboats towing the dragon-boats to Phnom Penh and each of them carried hundreds of cubic meters of luxury wood arranged at the bottom of the hulls with tree saplings placed atop. The dragon-boat rowers were arranged to sit atop the tree saplings in a bid to deter inspection by the authorities. The sources said that these timber carrying motorboats moored in Tonle Sap River off Phsa Toch Market close to the Caltex gas station. Both the Economic Police [EP] officers and Forest Administration [FA] officials were said to be afraid to search the boats. In fact, they were afraid not of the power of Kun Kim but of the power of the timber traders' dollars.

A Phnom Penh FA official told Sralanh Khmer that in the night of 21 November 2007 a few FA officials and EP officers drove cars and piloted outboards to negotiate with and take bribes from the tycoons behind the shipment of sawn timber in motorboats from Kampong Cham and Kracheh provinces that were at anchor off Phsa Toch Market. When the local police officers came to question and inspect the boats, the timber traders told the workers who were unloading the timber to tell the police that Kun Kim had shares in their stocks.

The sources said that one of the timber smuggling motorboats that night was named Vatthanak-Sambat. Another motorboat mooring nearby, named Chey Chumneah II, was also suspected of transporting good quality wood. However, the names of the other motorboats in that area were covered up with pieces of cloth.

A witness of this incident said that before 9:00 PM in the night of 21 November outboards of the FA officials and those of the EP officers were seen racing behind these 10 motorboats that were towing the dragon-boats. Three large motorboats suspected of transporting hundreds of cubic meters of wood (in each boat) left the Phsa Toch Market mooring place and sailed to drop anchor at another place in Prek Phneou. It was suspected that these boats were taking their shipments of timber to a timber depot belonging to a businesswoman named Chae Moy.

The sources said that this wood smuggling incident was also reported to Phnom Penh Police Commissioner Touch Naroth, Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun, FA Director-General Ty Sokhun, and the EP bureau head and deputy heads. But these men did not dare to stop the boats. They instead sent representatives to negotiate with the timber merchants. After pocketing the bribes, they just let them go, presuming that Kun Kim was behind these shipments of timber to Phnom Penh.

The sources said that luxury wood transported by motorboat, car, and train come to Phnom Penh everyday with the merchants who are waiting to buy the timber ready to pay off the EP officers and FA officials each time a shipment reaches Phnom Penh. However, if the timber smugglers fail to pay the bribes their shipments would be immediately sequestered. No matter where the smuggled timber is hidden, the EP and FA know about it. And each time there is an arrest and confiscation the media would be invited to take pictures and telecast the captured goods with these officials and officers acting as if they have just made a big score in suppressing forest crime. In reality, this usually follows the failure in the negotiation to extort bribes from the timber traders.

Sralanh Khmer yesterday was unable to contact General Kun Kim and many other figures involved for clarification on these criminal shipments of luxury wood through motorboats towing dragon-boats from the provinces that were moored off Phsa Toch Market in the night of 21 November.

It should be noted that a number of local newspaper reporters were beaten up by unidentified persons and powerful officials and some of them were given death threats in Pursat province just because they took pictures of cars transporting timber and published news about the illegal logging and timber transporting in Pursat. Concerning these warnings and persecutions, the authorities have never discovered and arrested any criminals behind them.

Cambodian forestry officials charged with intentional killing

Crowd looking at the car taking away the forestry officials (Photo: Thmor Keo, Koh Santepheap newspaper)

Forestry officials escorted to the court (Photo: Thmor Keo, Koh Santepheap newspaper)

Mon, 24 Sep 2007
DPA

Phnom Penh - Authorities have charged six Cambodian forestry officials with intentional killing after they fatally shot a man in a car they suspected of smuggling timber, a police official said Monday. Pursat provincial police chief Hem Vuthea said Kim Chantha, Chea Bunly, Pov Heang, Im Sophy and Horm Hoy were all in custody awaiting trial after being detained at the scene and a sixth man remained at large.

The six are accused of killing Nam Batheang, 29, on Saturday evening. Batheang was a back-seat passenger in a car the officials believed to be carrying illegally cut timber through the central province and they opened fire when the car refused to stop, Vuthea said.

[KI-Media warning: the remainder of the article contains a graphic photo of the victim which may not be suitable for sensitive readers]

"The driver and another passenger got away in the vehicle," Vuthea said by telephone.

If convicted, the men face 10 to 15 years in jail.

Timber smuggling is a serious problem in Cambodia, and authorities have warned that they do not have enough manpower to curb the trade, leading to frustration among some overworked officials.

Body of the vicitm (Photo: Thmor Keo, Koh Santepheap newspaper)