About 200 villagers and monks from the Trea village in the Capital’s Stung Meanchey commune gathered in front of the Supreme Court yesterday, as village representatives fielded questions regarding a land dispute that has lingered for 12 years.

In 2000, a group of 320 families lodged an initial complaint with the Supreme Court after their verdict form the Court of Appeals in 1999 denied their claim to a 261,825 square metre plot of land.

The land was awarded to Rotha Phirom, Voreak Satha and Kim Heang, who claimed they had rightful ownership.  

Nhem Hul, one of 23 of the village representatives attending the trial, said villagers were living in the disputed area from 1991 to 1998, until they received a verdict informing them they no longer had rights to the land.

He added that one of the plaintiffs, Kim Heang, had convinced the court that he had legally bought the land from the villagers.

However, he said this claim was untrue.

“The villagers have enough evidence and the land titles with recognition from local authorities.”

The Supreme Court will deliver a verdict concerning the villagers land dispute on November 8.

Rotha Phirom, Voreak Satha or Kim Heang could not be reached by the Post for comment yesterday.