Timber Tycoon Oknha Remains Behind Bars
Phnom Penh: The prosecutor of the Mondolkiri provincial court on July 11, 2019 was still questioning Oknha Soueng Sam Ol, suspected of forest crimes in Mondolkiri, after the military police detained him and 3 others on Wednesday.
The timber baron was sent in handcuffs to the prosecution of the provincial court along with three men, under an military police guard armed with automatic guns.
Morm Vananda, a deputy prosecutor and spokesman for the Mondulkiri Court, told Swift News that the prosecution had not yet charged the men, but were following lines of inquiry.
He stressed that tycoon Soe Sam Ol and his co-workers were to be held temporarily in the Mondolkiri military prison for one more night to wait for further questioning on the morning of July 12, 2019.
According to the law, they could be charged under Article 97 of the Forestry Law, which carries a sentence of 5 to 10 years and the loss of all equipment to the state.
More logging camps are being searched for, and equipment will be destroyed if found.
A gendarmerie spokesman called for companies operating illegally in forests to stop immediately because the crackdown will continue throughout the country.
