In June, a government sub-decree named Ly Arporn and Seng Nhak — the daughter and son-in-law of CPP Senator and businessman Ly Yong Phat — as the new owners of 600 hectares of land in Ream and Bit Traing communes, including Boeng Thom Angkep lake. The order claimed the state land and flooded forests were unused and not of public interest.

A series of state land deals are slicing up valuable corners of Preah Sihanouk province to benefit powerful individuals in Cambodia: the prime minister’s family; businesses linked to tycoon Ly Yong Phat and the Prince conglomerate shareholders; the National Police chief and numerous others.
A lake is being turned into a development site, with local residents’ homes dismantled, while a coastal bay is in the process of becoming landfill.
More than a dozen government-issued sub-decrees, visits to the tracts of land in question, and interviews with residents, officials and observers paint a picture of the province’s land developments as being deeply entwined with the country’s power structures.