Ex-official sentenced over land deal

An ex-commune chief accused of orchestrating a fatal 2014 grenade attack was sentenced by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to three years in prison yesterday for a separate case, in which he violated a 2014 Supreme Court decision involving a land deal.

Presiding judge Y Thavareak said that defendant Phy Nop, alias Phy Leap – who was arrested on December 18, 2014 – was also ordered to pay about $1,000 in fines.

Kong Sam Sareth, a vice prosecutor at the court, said that in 2009, three villagers involved in a land dispute with one of Nop’s relatives in Phnom Penh’s Kouk Roka commune filed a lawsuit against the businessman.

He added that in May of last year, the Supreme Court ordered the relative to return the disputed land to the plaintiffs, and instructed Nop, the then commune chief, to ensure the that occurred.

Nop, however, did not comply, resulting in his conviction.

Meanwhile, Nop is awaiting trial on charges of “initiating premeditated intentional murder” over his alleged involvement in a grenade attack last October in Sen Sok district that killed an 11-year-old boy.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ex-official-sentenced-over-land-deal