Preah Sihanouk province authorities yesterday demolished part of one home and its fence, which had encroached on a road they are trying to widen in the province’s Prey Nop district.

Yesterday, excavators tore down the house of Sok Hieng because it was too close to a village road. The owners of 19 other homes along the road had proactively relocated their fences when local authorities told them to do so, according to Yem Sok Samon, Prey Nop’s deputy district governor.

“She [Sok Hieng] built the fence and it extended over the road. The authority had informed and demanded her to pull it down many times, but she refused to do so. So the authorities took administrative action by using an excavator to demolish it,” Sok Samon said.

Yek Yarn, Boeung Veng village chief, said Hieng’s family had repeatedly been told to stop encroaching on the public road but to no avail.

“The above family built on the public road land . . . and some other villagers also have built shops on the road as well. But aside from this family, [the others] have disassembled their buildings,” he said.

However, Hieng said the authorities never stopped her from extending her house onto the road before.

“My building has been constructed for about 10 years already and the authorities did not ban or demolish it. I think that it is unfair [to demolish it] without paying any compensation,” she said.