THE deputy chief of Prek Kampus commune in Kandal province intervened in a dispute between villagers and a nearby garment factory on Monday, vowing to act on two petitions village representatives filed last week that accused the company of pumping wastewater into local water sources.

Korn Sokan said Tuesday that he had forwarded the villagers’ complaints to the Kandal Stung district governor after realising a Chinese company had breached an agreement last month to stop pumping wastewater into the local creek.

“I don’t know what to do if the villagers want to protest, but I will try my best to help them to close the factory if [it] still allows the wastewater to flow into the rice fields,” he said.

Representatives of more than 500 families from Krang Svay and Prek Kampus villages in Prek Kampus commune had filed two petitions to commune officials last week threatening to protest on Tuesday if action wasn’t taken.