More than 100 parents, guardians and teachers have sued the principal and cashier of a private school in Svay Rieng province for allegedly committing fraud, a local official told The Post on Thursday.

Ou Bunleng, Svay Rieng commune police chief, said that Meas Y Si, the principal of Golden Bridge International School, and Chan Sophanny, the school’s cashier, had been sued by more than 100 people for allegedly colluding to close the school while still accepting tuition fees.

The families allege they were not informed of the school’s closure and paid $250 to $400 in tuition fees for the new academic year.

“In the complaint, some parents have up to four children studying at Golden Bridge International School and they’ve already paid the school fees. The principal and the cashier colluded to secretly close the school for no reason,” Bunleng said.

He said the police were now investigating the case and preparing a letter inviting the two accused to clarify the situation.

Keo Sinorn, 62, who lives in Svay Rieng town’s Svay Rieng commune, told The Post on Thursday that she had four grandchildren enrolled for the 2019-2020 academic year, paying a total of $1,200.

“The school fee for each of them came to $250 per year. But Sophanny, the school’s cashier, told me that if I paid an additional $200, the school will provide a 50 per cent scholarship or a lower the price for my two grandchildren for the next year,” she said.

Som Vannak, one of four teachers from the school who joined parents and guardians in filing complaints to police, told The Post on Thursday that the school has 140 students, with each paying between $250 and $400 for the school year.

He said the school’s principal and the cashier had stolen the money and failed to pay the teachers’ salaries.

“It is very unfair for the parents and guardians. Some are garment workers in factories and others on construction sites.

“They work hard to earn money to pay the school fees for their children. But instead, the principal and the cashier colluded to steal the money and run away. Even our salaries as teachers have not been paid,” she said.

Sophanny, the cashier, told The Post on Thursday that she and her husband Ritha Lin, a driver for the school, were also victims of Y Si as he had failed to pay their salaries for four months.

“My husband and I have worked hard for the school, but the school’s principal failed to pay our salary for four months.

“In mid-October, my husband and I called to tell principal Y Si that we will stop working if we are not paid, but he turned off his phone when we spoke about our salaries. Eventually, we decided to stop working on October 24,” she said.

Y Si declined to comment on the matter when contacted by The Post.