Pursat village chief sold land illegally, say police

[geovalin]

Khouth Sophak Chakrya

District police in Pursat’s Veal Veng district have accused a village chief of selling 2 hectares of state-owned forest land to three men from Battambang province, who then proceeded to clear the land of all the trees. The accused, Ouk Bunthoeun, chief of Smert village, who allegedly sold the land to the three men claiming that he owned it, will now be charged with fraud and initiating the clearing of forest land by district police.

An official complaint has been forwarded to the provincial court for further action. The police say that they were checking for illegal land clearings in the forest yesterday afternoon when then chanced upon the three men, who were in the process of clearing the 2-hectare plot.

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