The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday sentenced local tycoon Sieng Chan Heng to one year in prison for swindling Chinese investors in a land deal in Kampong Chhnang province.
The businesswoman, who holds the royally granted title of okhna, was convicted of fraud and forgery offences for selling a parcel of land in Rolea Ba’ier district to two sets of buyers.
Judge Long Kesor Phirum also ordered Chan Heng, director of the Heng Akpivat company, to pay $100,000 in compensation to the plaintiffs and $750 to the state.
The case heard yesterday was brought by Lem Khy, who bought the land from the defendant on behalf of Chinese investors in 2013.
However, the oknha also faces other complaints related to the fraud. Attorney for the plaintiff Than Thavrak said upon buying the land, his client discovered it had already been sold to investors Ny Kim An and Kong Sen.
Though Khy lodged a complaint, he soon found himself facing a countersuit from Heng, who obtained a new land title and argued the investors were trying to take her property.
“The court has revealed that [her] documents are fakes,” Thavrak said yesterday.
