KAMPONG Speu provincial court has summoned four villagers from Thpong district in a case related to an ongoing land dispute with a sugar company owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat.

Yuon Nhanh, 35, Sin Peng, 35, Morn Hoeun, 38, and a fourth villager identified only as Sophan have been accused of living illegally on land belonging to the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, said Ouch Leng, land programme officer at rights group Adhoc.

The company has been granted an 8,343-hectare land concession in Omlaing commune that rights groups estimate will displace more than 2,000 families.

The four villagers are to appear in court for questioning on Wednesday, said Ouch Leng, bringing to 19 the number of people who have been summoned in connection with the dispute since March.

“We don’t know when the company will stop harassing us,” Kin Rum, one of those affected by the company, said yesterday. “They file complaints against us non-stop.”

Chheang Kimsruon, a representative of the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, said the new complaints had not been filed by her firm.