Eight families in a village in Banteay Meanchey say they were threatened by a man who claims to own their land. The dispute centres on 54 hectares of land in Malai district’s Ta Kong commune. The villagers say a commune official secretly sold the land to a military official. Both then allegedly threatened the villagers when they complained this month, they said. “We are afraid of losing our farmland,” said representative Mean Nhor. The military official, Heng Karim, said the land was his. “I have never intimidated the villagers,” he said.