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A former deputy governor and social media influencer, Thy Sovantha, has been sentenced to three years’ jail by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday for posting messages that jeopardized the Cambodian army and incitement to disturb social security during the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute.
Her husband, Phe Sovannarith, also received a three-year jail term for being an accomplice. Both were fined six million riel (about $1500) each, according to court spokesperson Y Rin.
Sovantha, who was arrested in December 2025, posted information that several frontline soldiers suffered health problems, such as hypertension, diabetes, liver and kidney diseases, due to alcohol consumption. The allegation was dismissed as fake news.
Prior to her removal as deputy governor of Areyksat city in Kandal province, Sovantha was a youth activist with the now-dissolved opposition party, Cambodia National Rescue Party, which was prominent during the 2013 national election.
She defected to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party later but was expelled by its President, Hun Sen, following her criticism of the military’s border affairs.
More than 30 people, including political and social activists and journalists, were arrested between mid-2025 and early 2026 over social media posts relating to the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute which broke out in July and flared again in December along the neighboring countries’ 817-km (508-miles) frontier. The fighting killed nearly 100 people and displaced almost a million on both sides before a ceasefire was reached.
