Monks and villagers affected by land disputes yesterday chased a ruling Cambodian People’s Party politician out of Wat Samaki Rainsy pagoda in Phnom Penh after he shouted at a monk.

According to Sieng Sovannara, the chief abbot at the pagoda, Sous Yara, a Preah Vihear lawmaker, had come to talk to villagers from his province about their disputes.

But instead, he began making speeches about the Cambodia-Thai border and other issues before getting angry at a monk when he asked him to talk about the villagers’ concerns.

“He was disrespecting the monk, and regarding the monk as not equal to him. So people got angry and stood up together, surrounding him,” Sovannara said, adding that he quickly made his exit after that.

In a video posted on Facebook, Yara could be seen shouting at a monk.

Yara said he did not disrespect anyone and that monks had incited villagers.