Evicted from their homes near Phnom Penh’s Boeung Tamok lake, displaced residents now face a harsh choice: take on debt to pay court fines or go to jail.
Sea Sambath and Soun Sao, former residents of the Samrong Tbong community on the edge of Boeung Tamok, have faced the threat of jail after a Phnom Penh court in March ordered them to pay a one million riel (about $250) fine by April 22, stemming from their convictions after a heated protest in Feb. 2024 over the excavation of land near their community.
Both men were sentenced to eight months in prison in December, but the sentence was suspended in favor of the fine after an appeal to the Supreme Court. They have since paid the fine by taking out a loan with private creditors.
At least five other Boeung Tamok residents face similar fines, part of a broader set of 27 cases linked to protests over land grabs around – and in – the lake, which has been nearly filled and sold off to Cambodian elites, a community leader said.
For Sambath, Sao and others charged after protesting their eviction, private loans are the only way to avoid jail. The court fine exceeds the Cambodian minimum wage by almost $50, and compensation from government resettlement deals falls far short of covering legal fees and the cost of new housing.
After receiving the court notice ordering him to pay the fine or face jail time of unknown length, Sambath took out a private loan – one he now repays at a steep 10% monthly interest rate.
“I have to pay 100,000 riel in interest every month,” he said. “With that, I don’t know when I can pay them back.
With the new payments, Sambath expects a heavier burden on his family, which recently relocated to the nearby district of Prek Pnov along with many other former Boeung Tamok villagers. He has no regular income after losing access to the lake for fishing – now 74% filled – and his wife brings in little from her job at a garment factory.
They have six children.
“We still can live, but it’s miserable,” he lamented. “I am no longer concerned that the court will put me in jail, but now I’m concerned about how to find money to pay for the loan.”
Sao also borrowed from a private lender and pays 100,000 riel in monthly interest.
Since moving to Prek Pnov with his wife and four children, he has cultivated a small rice paddy, but says it’s not enough to support the family. He continues to assert his innocence and denounce what he calls injustice against his community.
“It’s unfair. They charged us, and I can’t accept that,” he said.
Predatory micro and private loans are a long-running problem in Cambodia, driving many into debt traps with sky-high interest and little oversight. Rights groups and analysts say the proliferation of predatory lending – especially from unlicensed lenders – has exacerbated the vulnerability of low-income families.
Sea Davy, another member of the Samrong Tbong community, is also facing criminal charges after protesting her eviction from land now expropriated.
She called for authorities to drop the remaining cases and fines against her and other villagers, saying the fight is over – the land is gone, the lake is nearly filled, and her community has already moved.
Seang Mouylay, project manager at Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, a local NGO that supports urban poor communities, echoed Davy’s call for the fines and convictions to be overturned.
“Even if they’re not behind bars, they still carry the burden – court fines to pay and a criminal record to their name,” Mouylay said. “Their livelihoods are already fragile. Authorities should show some leniency.”
