Chhoun Hai – chief of the Poipet town Customs and Excise Department – has been removed from his post and transferred to a position in Takeo province, Banteay Meanchey Governor Korsum Saroeut said yesterday.

The move comes just two months after a riot by aggrieved cross-border porters damaged the local customs office.

Hai will become deputy chief of customs for Takeo, and will be replaced by Huy Socheat, chief of the Bavet border crossing in Svay Rieng.

“[Hai] has worked in Poipet for three years and has made a lot of revenue for the government,” Saroeut added. But Soum Chankea, provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, brushed off that explanation saying it was an “excuse” as Hai had failed to deal with the porters’ concerns.