Kampong Thom Official Arrested for Bulldozing in Flooded Forest

(All Photos: CEN)

Authorities say the suspect, Cheat Sivutha, worked with villagers in Sam Proch commune, Stoung district, to bulldoze a portion of the forest.

26 July 2012

Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer

PHNOM PENH - Local authorities have detained the head of Kampong Thom province’s meteorology department and five villagers on charges they destroyed part of a protected flooded forest in the province.

Authorities say the suspect, Cheat Sivutha, worked with villagers in Sam Proch commune, Stoung district, to bulldoze a portion of the forest. Among the arrested was Ngeang Poul, chief of the commune. They were taken into custody by military police on Tuesday.

An estimated 10,000 hectares of flooded forest, which surrounds the Tonle Sap lake in the heart of the country, have been destroyed, despite a government ban. Authorities began a crackdown last month.

Am Sam Ath, investigator for the rights group Licadho, welcomed the arrests as a good example of law enforcement in Cambodia, but he urged the court to see the case through.