A Koh Kong villager enmeshed in a land dispute with a company owned by ruling party Senator Ly Yong Phat was released on bail yesterday, two weeks after his arrest for allegedly stealing tools from a construction site.

Fellow villagers yesterday morning ended protests they held in front of the court since Nol’s arrest, villager representative Ruot Sophal said.

“The court released one of our representatives without any requirement for us to stop protesting,” Sophal said. “We just ended the demonstrations.”

Koh Kong Provincial Court judge Kham Sophary ordered the release of Phorn Nol last Wednesday, but the court could not release him until yesterday because of the Water Festival holiday. Nol had been held since October 27.

Nol’s arrest came after he was brought into court for questioning stemming from a complaint filed by Koh Kong Special Economic Zone officials, who accused him of stealing construction equipment from a site in January.