Khmer Times
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Ven Vorn, 36, (R) arrives at court for his
trial in Koh Kong yesterday. Supplied
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The Koh Kong provincial court held hearings yesterday in the case of a representative of the Chong ethnic minority accused of constructing a building without a license. The accused, 36-year-old Ven Vorn, said he had the governor’s approval to erect an administrative office and classroom, but the district forest administration last October filed a complaint accusing him of doing so without permission.
Rights advocates from the province, meanwhile, have said that politics may be the real motivation behind the trial. Kong Chet, coordinator for human rights organization Licadho in Koh Kong, said that the district governor pushed through the prosecution as revenge against Mr. Vorn for leading a protest against a nearby hydropower dam.
Mr. Vorn was arrested last October after purchasing eight cubic meters of wood from locals to build an office in Ain Chrok Russei village. He said the administrative building was intended to handle increasing tourism to the Areng region and serve as an office for the community.
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