A Kampong Thom military commander has called for the authorities to investigate and identify perpetrators who illegally cleared and encroached upon 45 hectares of state-reserved land in the Otalok area, Mean Rith commune, Sandan district, while defence forces were deployed to protect the integrity of the Cambodia–Thailand border.
Lieutenant General Som Sun, commander of the Kampong Thom Sub-Operational Military Zone and permanent deputy chairman of the Kampong Thom Provincial Commission for the Protection, Prevention and Suppression of Natural Resource Crimes shared the concerns. He made the statement while leading provincial forestry administration officials and local authorities on January 12, to inspect newly cleared forest land totaling 45 hectares.
The Royal Cambodian Army confirmed that Sun instructed authorities to take investigative measures to identify those responsible and bring them to justice without exception.
“During the period when part of the Kampong Thom forces were ordered to carry out border protection duties along the Cambodia–Thailand frontier, offenders took advantage of the situation to illegally clear the land and claim it as private property,” it stated.
Sun noted that over the past nearly two years, the Kampong Thom Provincial Commission for the management, protection, prevention, and suppression of natural resource crimes — working in coordination with the armed forces, relevant specialised institutions and authorities at all levels — has made efforts to prevent forest encroachment and illegal occupation of state land. As a result, more than 4,000 hectares of land previously seized from offenders in past years have been reclaimed and preserved as state land, allowing natural forests to regenerate.
Portions of this land have also been replanted as part of forest restoration efforts.
He instructed the zone forces to continue to cooperate with local authorities and law enforcement agencies to manage and safeguard the encroached forest areas, enabling competent institutions to proceed in accordance with legal procedures.
He also delivered fuel, food supplies and other essential materials — donations from Prime Minister Hun Manet to the forces stationed in the Otalok area. These supplies are intended to support their daily livelihoods and to strengthen efforts to protect, prevent and suppress forest encroachment, ensuring that state land is never illegally occupied again.
