Hundreds of villagers gathered in Siem Reap province’s Angkor Chum district on Saturday, as local officials tried to mediate a dispute over the conduct of the head monk of a local pagoda alleged to have illegally sold valuable timber meant for the construction of a prayer hall. Seng Vanna, 39, who has been the head monk at Nokor Pheas pagoda for three years, said that the villagers came to support him on Saturday and to prevent him from being removed from his post. He added that he had used the money from the sale of surplus construction wood to refurbish a road leading to the pagoda.