Sea Sambath and Soun Sao, former residents of Boeung Tamok, are faced with the threat of arrest if they fail to pay a fine of one million riel by April 22​ after their case was dismissed by the Supreme Court last year. 
Sambath, 35, who was forcibly evicted from his home due to the development of the lake, said he is now jobless and cannot afford the court-ordered fine.

A notice was issued on March 13, 2025 to Sambat and Soun Sao, 46, by prosecutors Sok Keobandit and Mut Dara to pay the fine at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s accounting office before April 22. Both men were sentenced to eight months in prison and fined one million riel in accordance with Criminal Judgment No. 918 on December 19, 2024 of the Supreme Court. If they fail to pay the fine, the court will issue an order to detain them.

On December 16, 2024, Sahmakum Teang Tnaut Organization (STT) published a report, “Trace of Development on the Boeung Tamok Lake 26 People Charged Over Protecting Their Lands and Houses”, highlighting the plight of the Samrong Tbong community.

The community has been hit with seven lawsuits, involving 26 people, from 2021 to 2024. Five cases are being heard in Phnom Penh Municipal Court, one is on appeal in the Supreme Court, and another was dismissed.

Most of the cases involve residents being charged with assaulting public officers during the demolition of their homes. Based on the legal status and alleged land occupation by the Samrong Tbong community (which is not part of the lake area), the residents should not be viewed as having “illegally occupied the land”, STT said.

Sambath is one of four residents of Boeung Tamok who was charged with violence and insulting public officials. He told CamboJA News that he was a victim having been evicted from his home due to the development, therefore  that the charges are unfair. He said he did not commit the crime as accused by the Prek Pnov district authority and the court.

His case was dismissed by the Supreme Court when it went on appeal following a lower court judgment in 2024, which meant that he was required to pay the fine or face further legal action.

Sambath said he is experiencing difficulties since he moved to a new location as he is not able to find work or earn an income by catching fish in Boeung Tamok like before, making it impossible for him to raise money to pay the fine.

“I don’t know where I’m going to get one million riel. I’m scared they’ll arrest me if I don’t pay the court,” Sambath said. To avoid arrest, he will apply for a postponement for the payment or request for a bank loan.

“I didn’t do anything wrong but they accuse me of using violence. I ask the court not to take money from us because I haven’t been able to earn anything. If there was a lake, we could always catch fish, but now they’ve destroyed it,” Sambath said. 

Another Samrong Tbong community resident, Sea Davy, who faces two criminal charges related to the land dispute, said five villagers were sued by the Prek Pnov district authority for violence and insulting the public official. The community was defeated in the court of first instance, the Appeal Court, and Supreme Court.

Davy said charging them was unfair since her brother did not commit the act accused by the authorities. They appealed against the judgment all the way to the Supreme Court but were defeated.

“It is unfair to the villagers, even though we appealed, we still lost. Why are we going to court for a small matter?” Davy said.

Now that Boeung Tamok has been filled, with the villagers also agreeing to exchange their old place for a new location prepared by the authorities, Davy felt that the authorities should therefore close the case.

“The livelihood of the villagers is miserable. Our household income is in shambles, and [the court] still wants one million riel. What will they do? What do they get from villagers? They are the authorities, why do they want to defeat the citizens?” Davy said. 

Prek Pnov district governor Thim Sam An said Boeung Tamok residents have agreed to move to an area where the authorities have prepared houses and land. When asked about the complaint against the authorities, he replied that “no other residents have filed a complaint”. As for the payment of the fine to court, he said was not sure.

From November 2023 to March 2024, the STT surveyed 884 households or 3,798 people from 11 urban poor communities who said they faced threats of eviction as their land had been designated as state or public land.

As of August 2024, the Boeung Tamok area has undergone 80 instances of land cutting or reclassification totaling 2,427.3 hectares, which is equivalent to 74.92% of the lake’s total surface area. 

Licadho operations director Am Sam Ath said criminal offenses are commonly punishable by fines. But there were compromises in the past, such as cases where fines were not paid.

Regarding the Boeung Tamok case, the lawsuit arose from a land issue, which Sam Ath believes that the authorities should have put more thought in before filing it as the villagers are citizens on their own land. Therefore, they should have examined and found solutions.

“[The authorities are like] parents. When there is a verdict from the Supreme Court, I think that if poor citizens cannot afford it, they should have understood and examined [other options] properly,” Sam Ath said. 

In cases where citizens cannot afford to pay and risk further punishment, it itself becomes a punishment for the citizen, and the one who pays is the state itself. Therefore, the state should reconsider adjusting the living conditions of citizens to fit the government’s policy of reducing poverty.

According to STT’s data, more than 74% of the lake has been reclaimed in the last six years following a 2016 sub-decree allowing the government to lease or sell land in and around the lake.

While the sub-decree has been used to label land at Boeung Tamok as eminent domain, the area on which the Samraong Tboung community lives is not officially recognized as such.