Disputes over the development of Phnom Penh’s new airport, which has seen violent clashes and dozens of arrests, have risen to a conflict between the prime minister’s family and a controversial tycoon.
On January 5, the government issued a notice authorizing the Kandal Provincial Police to prosecute oknha Seang Chanheng, saying she had claimed land owned by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s sister Hun Bunthoeun.
That land was now part of the new Phnom Penh airport project in Kandal, the notice said, though it did not clarify whether the dispute was over compensation from the project or another reason.
The project, which received 2,600 hectares from the state, has displaced villages and residents’ farmland, leading to violent clashes with authorities, including around 30 arrests in 2021.
Sa’ang district’s Sa’ang Phnom commune chief Mi Pin said the land in question was around 80 hectares, and Bunthoeun had documents saying she had bought it from villagers.
Bunthoeun and Chanheng had been fighting over the land for a long time, he said, without specifying further.
“She has her purchase document and the size of the land and people as witness, and what are the documents about where Seang Chanheng’s land is and who she bought it from?” Pin said.
However, on Wednesday Hun Sen posted online that he was canceling his earlier order authorizing Chanheng’s prosecution. Chanheng had asked him to reconsider on Monday, Hun Sen said. Land Minister Chea Sophara would study the case and a decision would be made thereafter, he said.
Chanheng commented online: “I and my family thank samdech pu and ming who help find justice. … I am excited and tears are coming down.”
Government spokesman Phay Siphan referred questions to Sophara and the Land Ministry, which could not be reached.
Chanheng was previously in a dispute with local villages over airport land, including having a U.S. visa revoked over the issue. Tourism Minister Thong Khon, Phnom Penh deputy governor Keut Chhe and former Phnom Penh police chief Chuon Sovann reportedly also have dispute-ridden land nearby.
