Nine Boeung Tamok residents received another court order on Tuesday from the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for intentional violence and “crimes against public officials” in connection with an incident involving canal excavation that occurred in February. A few of the residents have received several court orders for different issues.
A document dated July 9, 2024, which was viewed by CamboJA News stated that Investigating Judge Chhe Vivattanak ordered each of the nine Boeung Tamok residents to appear in court in a consecutive manner between July 24 and August 6, 2024.
The intentional violence charge, in relation to the “use of gasoline to burn nets” resulting in injury, and the “crimes against public officials” allegedly occurred in Boeung Tamok and Samrong Tbong village, Samrong commune, Prek Pnov district in Phnom Penh.
According to the document, the defendants would have to bring with them any relevant documents and if they do not show up in time, the judge may issue an arrest warrant.
Resident Kong Toeur who received the order said this was her fourth court warrant. She said it was unfair to her and her teenage daughter who did not commit any offense, but received yet another court warrant.
“It is very unfair because my daughter, who was sleeping in a hammock [on the day of the incident], was also sued.” She added, “I ask them; what did we do to them? We only told them that we want to live decently like others.”
Like Toeur, Sea Sambath, one of the nine residents who received the court order, said it was not fair. “They can only accuse and abuse their own people. It looks like there is no reality at all.”
On that day, he was standing in an area behind his house. “I did not go there to argue with them [authorities].”
His wife Tim Ouk and sister Sea Davy have also been ordered to appear in court. He said they will not avoid attendance as they have done nothing wrong.
“I urge all local officials and the government to look after their own people and remove the complaints. Please don’t sue people who are not wrong,” said Sambath.
This is his second time receiving a court order. His first case has already reached the Supreme Court following an appeal in June against the Court of Appeal’s verdict which upheld a lower court’s ruling. Together with four other villagers, they were found guilty of aggravated agitation against public officials in 2022 and sentenced to eight months’ jail and fined one million riel.
Davy, who got her second court warrant, told CamboJA News that 10 people were supposed to receive court orders, but one of them, Chan Ty, exchanged her land, so the authorities retained the warrant.
Currently, there are 44 houses in the area, but more than 50 percent of them have already negotiated for land exchange with the district officers, she said. This was because her neighbors faced income difficulties as the authorities continued to excavate the canal behind their house and fill it with sand.
Meanwhile, Toeur said she will agree to go negotiate with the district hall only if they drop all of her charges.
Prek Pnov district governor Thim Sam An said he had “no right to interfere” in the court’s law enforcement but he would also not leave the issue alone. What he meant was that he would continue to implement the policy of exchanging land for the people.
Sam An urged the remaining 44 households to “hurry” and “accept the policy on land exchange”, adding that 65 households have already accepted it.
Seang Muy Lai, Sahmakum Teang Tnaut organization’s Right to the City program manager, said the latest court order was the seventh for Samrong Tbong community residents. He felt that the lack of appropriate solutions to the people and use of the court system was unfortunate as it did not solve the problem and caused additional burden on the people.
Muy Lai hoped to see the authorities deal with it in a transparent manner, which was a better way for people to accept compensation voluntarily, as pressuring and forcing them to accept unreasonable compensation was not right and did not adhere to human rights principles.
“Even those who are under pressure accept compensation, but it is wrong as this is a form of forced eviction, which is against human rights law.”
Muy Lai said the map showed that the residential location of the Samrong Tbong community was outside the state-owned public land boundary.
On July 12, Prek Pnov district authorities pasted notices on the doors of the residents, ordering the remaining households to dismantle the houses and other structures that were built on state-owned public roads by July 26, 2024.
“The land is in the master plan to widen the road to smoothen the traffic from Win Win Memorial to Route 151 and onwards to National Road 5 and Route 42 for the convenience of the population,” the notice stated.
The district administration will provide compensation, including land, house with title, “large amounts of budget”, electricity, clean water and drainage, as the location was also near to their current place, it read.
