Some 30 families from Poipet city’s Phsar Kandal commune yesterday protested in front of the Poipet Town Hall to demand intervention from authorities to resolve a land dispute with a man who claims to be an “adviser” to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Poipet Governor San Seanho said the villagers told him a man known as Pich Thoeun – who claims to hold sway in Cambodia’s government as an adviser to the premier – allegedly told them the land they are occupying was granted to him under a Supreme Court verdict.
However, the villagers say the land Thoeun was allocated under the verdict is in a different village called Tuol Pong Ro, not in their Phsar Kandal village, according to Seanho. He added he didn’t know whether Thoeun was a real adviser to Hun Sen.
Seanho said an initial inspection of the disputed area yesterday found that the property currently occupied by the 30 families is in fact located outside the scope of the land that was allegedly granted to Thoeun under the court’s verdict.
“I assigned experts to study and check the meaning of the Supreme Court’s verdict, and prepare a joint committee to measure the land in order to avoid a wrong implementation [of the verdict] that affects 30 families,” he said.
Thoeun could not be reached for comment yesterday.
