Ratanakkiri’s Provincial Court prosecutor has recommended that two operators and a staffer for the state-owned, but privately run, rubber plantation known as Solidarity Group 14 be charged with robbery, officials said Wednesday.
Prosecutor Mey Sokhan said he submitted his recommendation to the court calling for Group 14 operators Chhe Chan and Bun Tha and plantation staffer Suong Sim to be charged.
Mey Sokhan declined to discuss the details of the case because it was being investigated, though he added that he submitted the recommendation on May 18.
“We don’t know who is right or wrong,” he said, adding that the matter is now in the hands of the investigating judge.
Chhe Chan said he was surprised by the allegations, which he said were false. He also accused Mey Sokhan of steering the case in favor of the Tai Seng Rubber Co.
“I don’t understand. The plantation’s management is mine,” Chhe Chan said. “Even a child would laugh—this is a violation.”
Mey Sokhan’s clerk Prak Soeun said the recommendation to charge stemmed from a lawsuit filed in March by 13 rubber plantation workers who had been fired by Chhe Chan.
The 13 workers claimed at the time that they were unfairly fired so the operators could hire replacements who would work for less money.
The workers were provided with attorneys for the case by the Tai Seng Rubber Co, which is in a longstanding battle with the operators of Solidarity Group 14 over access rights to resin collected by workers.
Prak Soeun said he is unsure why robbery charges were recommended in this case.
Court Director and Investigating Judge Yar Narin confirmed that he had received the case but declined to give details. “The court will handle it according to the law,” he said.
