Nearly 100 villagers led by a wheelchair-bound woman threw Molotov cocktails and burned tires in a clash with police outside the woman’s home in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district Monday morning, villagers and police said.
Neng Neiy Heng, 54, said her neighbors gathered to help protect her home from more than
40 police and military police officers who were ordered to demolish it. Ownership of the property in Phnom Penh Thmei commune is being disputed in municipal court.
Neng Neiy Heng, who cannot walk, threw nearly 10 bottles of flaming gasoline at police as fellow villagers helped burn about 20 car tires to prevent police from entering her property, she said.
“If I don’t sacrifice my life, those police officers will destroy my house,” she said.
Court documents named Hak Nysay as claiming to be the rightful owner of the 60-meter-by-32-meter plot of land. The documents stated that Hak Nysay had claimed to have bought the land in 1993, but they did not state how much money was exchanged. The documents also stated that the local commune chief testified that he never signed a land title recognizing Neng Neiy Heng as the rightful owner.
Three families live on the contested property, villagers said.
Neng Neiy Heng said she bought the land from In Om Sameng, an official from the Ministry of Education, for about $900 in 1992. The value of the property has since risen sharply.
Latt Ky, a monitor for the human rights group Adhoc, said Governor Kep Chuktema’s order for police to demolish Neng Neiy Heng’s home was unlawful because the court is still reviewing the case.
“It’s opposite to the law, I think,” Latt Ky said.
In a letter dated Sept 4, Municipal Judge Tan Senarong asked Kep Chuktema to refrain from destroying the house while he was still working on the case.
Russei Keo district Police Chief El Rany said Monday’s incident was unprovoked, adding that Neng Neiy Heng also threw bottles of acid at police.
No one was injured, he said.
“We didn’t threaten her or use any violence against her,” he said.
(Additional reporting by Wency Leung)
