General Sao Sokha, Commander of the National military police, today, November 27, ordered the establishment of a special working group to investigate alleged irregularities relating to forestry crimes in the conduct of Kratie provincial military police commander Sak Sarang.
Sin Sophanny, deputy commander of the military police, will chair the eight-man task force, with Kong Satyarith, deputy chief of the Criminal Investigation Department, serving as deputy chair.
“The working group is tasked with inspecting and examining irregularities in the performance of duties and responsibilities by the Kratie provincial military police commander [Sak Sarang],” explained Sokha.
The team is authorised to interview relevant authorities, institutions and units; to issue summonses to senior and junior officers and soldiers of the Gendarmerie; as well as any individuals involved, in order to determine the facts.
After completing its mission, the working group will compile its findings and report them to the Commander of the National Gendarmerie.
Sokha instructed all deputy commanders, chiefs of units and other relevant officials — including the Kratie provincial commander and the individuals concerned — to comply with the decision from the date it was signed.
The working group was established after a local military police officer was accused of failing to cooperate with forest activist Tan Kimsour, who intercepted a load of illegal timber on November 26 in Kampong Cham commune, Sambor district. Instead of cooperating, officers allegedly questioned Kimsour, asking for his mission documents and attempting to summon him for further questioning.
Sokha instructed Sarang to cooperate in suppressing forest crimes. Meanwhile, a specialised investigation team from the National Military Police has been deployed to seize evidence and hand it over to the Boeung Char forest administration station for legal proceedings, according to military police spokesperson Eng Hy.
“The Gendarmerie has been and will continue to investigate any and all individuals involved in forestry crime to enforce the law. We will receive all information related to this case,” he said.
He added that under Sokha’s leadership, the National Gendarmerie has adopted the slogan: “The nation must be protected, the people must be served, the law must be respected, and crimes must be suppressed”.
Anyone committing a crime must face legal action; anyone violating discipline must face disciplinary measures, he added.
Sarang was previously reported to the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) by Tan Kimsour in May 2025, with a request for an investigation into alleged interference in natural resource crime cases. Sarang could not be reached for comment regarding the current allegations.
