Real Estate Mogul Denies Writing Bad Check

Jailed real estate mogul Sung Bon­na told the Phnom Penh Muni­cipal Court on Friday that the fraud charges against him stemmed from a simple misunderstanding about the repayment of a $400,000 debt.

Mr. Bonna, chairman of the Bon­na Realty Group, was charged and provisionally detained on June 10 over allegations that he issued a $400,000 check to businessman Keo Hun and Mr. Hun’s wife, Sok Tong, without having the necessary funds in his bank account.

He was questioned at the muni­ci­pal court on Friday morning but declined to speak to report­ers as he was escorted into a van bound for PJ Prison.

Mr. Bonna’s lawyer, Cheav Tola, said his client was questioned by Investigating Judge Long Kesar Phirum for just over an hour. Mr. Bonna told the judge he had issued a $400,000 check to Mr. Hun and Ms. Tong in 2014 to repay a debt of equal value, but under the condition that it could only be used once he had sufficient funds in his ac­count, Mr. Tola said.

A written contract stated that a third-party guarantor would repay the funds if Mr. Bonna could not do so himself by March this year, the lawyer said, adding that when Mr. Hun attempted to cash the check in March and it bounced, he filed a complaint against Mr. Bonna.

“My client had paid $70,000 of the $400,000, and he planned to continue to pay, but he might have been a little late, so Mr. Keo Hun filed a complaint against him,” he said.

Mr. Tola noted that the money in question was a small fraction of the value of Mr. Bonna’s company.

“The money—$400,000—is a small amount of money if we com­pare it with his company, Bonna Real­ty Group, which is worth millions of dollars,” he said. “I think the plaintiff should forgive him be­cause business has been slow, and businesses often owe each other money.”

Mr. Tola added that he formally lodged a bail request for his client on Friday afternoon.

Mr. Hun’s lawyer, Ho Pichrata­na, declined to speak about the case and referred questions to the court. Judge Kesar Phirum could not be reached, and court spokes­man Ly Sophanna said he was too busy to comment.

[email protected]