Roughly 30 villagers locked in a land dispute with Koh Kong Sugar protested at a construction site yesterday where they say the company was attempting to erect a concrete barrier on disputed land.

The villager’s representative, Preab Rotha, from Prek Khsach commune in Kiri Sakor District, said the company was attempting to fence off the land before the dispute had been settled.

“Therefore, we decided to ban them, and now they [construction workers] have stopped,” she said.

Koh Kong Sugar representative, Sin Sathya, said yesterday the fence was being built about a kilometre from the villagers’ land.

“We have the map, and the company is willing to negotiate with the people so we have no reason to do things like this,” he said.

In Prek Khsach commune, 135 families are locked in the land dispute, but the company said it has negotiated with 130 families.

However, village representatives dispute the numbers, saying more families have claims.