Phnom Penh police clashed with nearly 100 Borei Keila community representatives yesterday at a protest over the amount of compensation that had been received by villagers since they were evicted from their land.

Police attempted to arrest two of the representatives, villagers said, adding that they fought back against the police and prevented an effective arrest.

“The police pulled my hand in order to take me away to the district police station,” Phok Lina, one of the two villagers, said. “I refused to go, and people also did not allow me to go and surrounded me, not allowing police to come near to me.”

The villagers told the Post that Phan Imex company owner, Suy Sophan, grabbed a loudspeaker being used by residents and confiscated it. The Borei Keila community was evicted from their land to make way for a Phan Imex development in 2009, and disagreements over compensation have continued ever since.

Suy Sophan could not be reached for comment yesterday.