A 50-year-old man has been detained since Wednesday for allegedly not paying his workers some $30,000 in wages over two years at a sugar cane plantation in Kratie’s Sambor district, police said yesterday.

“The company promised to pay on this or that day, but did not, so they [the workers] filed the complaint to the court,” said Kun Sophaon, director of the provincial police’s minor crimes office, adding that throughout the two years, the eight plaintiffs – one of them the company’s chief of staff – took out bank loans to pay lower-level workers’ wages, on the promise the company would eventually pay up.

According to officials, suspect Lakmana Gapan is an Indian agriculture expert working for Carmadeno Venture Cambodia Limited – an Indian company operating a 7,635-hectare 70-year land concession.

Sophaon said yesterday that the court issued a warrant last year ordering Gapan to appear for questioning, but he refused. After that, the court issued another warrant on January 19, which led to the arrest.

Hak Horn, deputy provincial prosecutor, said that the suspect is seeking a lawyer.