Loggers claim NGO extortion

[geovalin]

Phak Seangly

A loacal NGO director and a village chief in Battambang’s Samlot district were summoned for questioning by district police today over a complaint filed by six loggers, who claim the men attempted to extort $6,000 from them under the threat of violence.

The loggers, who regularly collect timber and natural resources from Angkor Ling Mountain in Ta Tork commune, claim Chan Vai, a director of a local conservation NGO, stopped the men as they returned from illegally collecting rosewood last Wednesday.

The loggers claim the director drew his gun and demanded each of them pay a $1,000 fine, according to Chhim Yorn, deputy police chief of Ta Tork police.

read more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/loggers-claim-ngo-extortion

[xen]

Problem with stories like this is who to believe as both sides have a lot to gain by making the other side look bad. That is the nature of politics .