The owners of a guesthouse on Bamboo Island off the coast of Preah Sihanouk province voluntarily vacated their business Thursday upon receiving an undisclosed amount of financial compensation, one of the owners said.
In late December, RCAF officials told the owners of Bamboo Island Bungalows that they had until Jan 11 to close up shop, despite the Irish, British and Canadian owners claiming that they still had two years to run on their sublease to the property.
The military initially had said they would tear down the bungalows on Jan 11—a threat that was not carried out—and the bungalow owners said they would refuse to comply with the eviction notice unless compensation was paid.
On Monday, Donal Crinigan, one of the co-owners of Bamboo Island Bungalows, said that he had left the island last week after receiving compensation.
“I really can’t say who I got it from,” Crinigan said by telephone. “I have been asked not to talk about this,” he said, refusing to say how much he was paid out.
Crinigan and his partners said that they had a legal document signed by an RCAF brigadier general asserting that they could conduct business on the island until 2010.
Earlier this month, Ouk Sey Ha, commander of the province’s Ream Naval Base, said the bungalows were there illegally and had no valid lease.
Ouk Sey Ha declined Monday to discuss the compensation or the eviction orders, when contact by telephone.
The government has leased Bamboo Island to two companies that will build two major island resort developments. Contact information for the developers could not be obtained Tuesday.
Chun Heng, an official with the Council for the Development of Cambodia, who is an overseer island development, said he was not aware of the compensation payment.
