Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Suspects wanted for logging thousands of trees in Mondulkiri

Suspects wanted for logging thousands of trees in Mondulkiri

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
The trees were buried to hide the evidence from authorities while other trees were burned. Photo supplied

Suspects wanted for logging thousands of trees in Mondulkiri

Mondulkiri provincial authorities are working to identify suspects who cut down tens of thousands of trees and buried them in a 60ha patch of forestland in order to take over the land.

The search came after a joint force confiscated three machines in Pu Leh village, in O’Raing district’s Dak Dam commune.

Provincial Forestry Administration director Um Van Sopheak told The Post police have been looking into the case since last Thursday.

He said local community people had reported to the police about the case. When the operation began, suspects fled into the forest, leaving behind an excavator, a tractor, and two motorbikes seized as evidence.

“We are measuring the trees, counting them, and measuring the land that suspects had cleared. I cannot say clearly how many trees were buried and the size of the land that was cleared. I will wait for official information,” he said.

Dam Dak commune police chief Phong Hiek said on Sunday he participated in the operation, but could not estimate how many trees had been cut down. He said the suspects cut down the trees and buried them in order to hide the evidence from authorities.

He said some of the trees were buried, and some were about to be buried.

“The trees are not luxury timber. They are just trees that were cut and burned. They did not attempt to bring the trees out, but they cleared the forest in order to occupy the land,” Hiek said.

Provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc Eang Mengly said the case needs to be investigated and the suspects arrested. He said there could be collusion given the size of the land that was cleared, but local authorities did not take action on time.

“The situation was only handled when officials from the national level went to the field directly. Only then did we see local authorities take action,” he said.

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Siem Reap airport to close after new one opens

    After the new Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI) opens in October, the existing complex serving the northwestern province will be “completely closed”, according to State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) spokesman Sin Chansereyvutha. SAI developer Angkor International Airport Investment (Cambodia) Co Ltd (AIAI) last month

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Rare plant fetches high prices from Thai, Chinese

    Many types of plants found in Cambodia are used as traditional herbs to treat various diseases, such as giloy or guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) or aromatic/sand ginger (Kaempferia galangal) or rough cocklebur (Xanthium Strumartium). There is also a plant called coral, which is rarely grown

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Cambodia returns 15M Covid jabs to China

    Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia will return 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to China for donation to other countries. The vaccines in question were ordered but had not yet arrived in Cambodia. While presiding over the Ministry of Health’s annual meeting held on