Five different uniforms there - but it is not what it appears.
It was not the troops bringing in their own loot this time
- it was in fact a big show bust. The local generals and various heads of the environmental protection agencies were on the dock waiting. All with their own personal Canon-wielding personal PR photographers.

Mondulkiri Provincial Court issues detention order for 2-star general at Land Border Police Department in connection with forest crime
(October 05, 2020 at 3:58 pm)

Cambodia News, (Mondulkiri): On October 5, 2020, the Mondulkiri Provincial Court issued a temporary detention order for Major General Pov Sothearan, Deputy Director of the Land Border Police Department, in connection with forestry crimes.

According to the court order, the accused is Pov Sothearan, male, 43 years old, ethnic Khmer, Khmer nationality, place of birth: Popel village, Popel commune, Tbong Khmum district, Kampong Cham province, current address is house C65, Sangkat Srah Chak, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh.

Currently, he is the Deputy Director of the Land Border Police Department and is charged with "clearing, encroaching on forest land, clearing and burning forest land to take ownership of the land" at Phnom Rohang in Putham village, Dak Dam commune, Oreang (O'Raing] District, Mondulkiri Province, on September 9, 2020.
These are criminal offenses and will be punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 62, point 1, and Article 56, point 4, of the Law on Protected Areas.

A senator who was mentioned here : newsworthy/mondulkiri-vietnam-illegal-l ... ml#p448678 has apparently been pardoned after writing a letter of excuse to the PM and promising not to misbehave again.

Senator Apologizes Over Land Grab, Still Protected by Immunity
3 min read
Mech Dara
Tue Oct 6, 2020 6:08 pm
A senator accused of land grabbing in Mondulkiri province has written an apology to Prime Minister HE about his “mistakes in the past,” promising to “learn and practice following Samdech’s wisdom for the rest of my life.”

Noy Sron is one of 10 public officials implicated in encroaching protected areas in Mondulkiri by an inter-ministerial investigation in August. A subsequent letter to HE recommending appropriate penalties advised that Sron be removed for using his position and power to instruct local officials to sign illegal land documents.

In a letter submitted to the Council of Ministers, Sron denied that he had actually controlled any of the land in question.

“I would like to inform Samdech Prime Minister HE that I never controlled the 531 hectares like the Pu Hoam village chief and Sen Monorom commune chief in O’Raing” district alleged, he wrote.

“In order to end the issue, I would like to remove myself from involvement in the 531 hectares and hand it over to the people to control and use.”
Sron added that he would recommit to serving the country and party.

...Reached over the phone on Tuesday, Sron said the premier accepted his apology.

“The issues have ended with [me] receiving a warning and the blame,” he said. “My case already ended and [I’m] no longer involved. Samdech has signed my letter.”
https://vodenglish.news/senator-apologi ... -immunity/

It's a great system, tbh.

If you can plant trees, Meff, like you can plant your tongue in your cheek
there is a job for you right now in Mondulkiri

October 9, 2020
Three commune chiefs reprimanded for landgrabs


Three commune chiefs in Mondulkiri province were reprimanded after it was found they were involved in forestland encroachment, officials said.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng has ordered provincial governor Svay Sam Eang to take action against the commune chiefs in O’Raing and Keo Seima districts because they were involved with illegal logging and forestland clearing.

The officials were Thvan Trel, Sen Monorom commune chief, Peup Pe, Sre Preah commune chief and But Sam El, Sre Khtum commune chief.

Trel, Pe and Sam El could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The trio were disciplined under Article 84 of the Law on Commune Administration.

Environment Ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra told Khmer Times that the ministry, including local authorities, are cracking down on forest land clearing and encroachment in Mondulkiri province.

”Officials who are involved in illegal logging or allow loggers to cut down trees will be prosecuted,” Pheaktra said. “Both the Ministry of Environment and the local authorities are trying to prevent these problems every day.”
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50771434/t ... landgrabs/

It's only a rort when you are not in on it!

Cambodia News, (Mondulkiri): The mastermind of one of the forest land encroachments in Mondulkiri province was finally arrested by the authorities in Kampot province on October 13, 2020, and was sent to Kratie Provincial Court to continue the proceedings.

According to unofficial sources, a military officer named Chan Thy, who was the leader of the forest encroachment at Phnom Roham in Pou Chhop village Dak Dam Commune, Oreang District, Mondulkiri Province, was arrested after a large scale police investigation into the illegal land clearing.

The same source said that in this shocking case, the commission found that more than 10 people were directly involved, and while they arrested 5 people, the other five managed to escape. They are being sought by authorities.
The accused are mostly civil servants and members of the armed forces.

1- Chan Thy is a military officer
2-Pov Sothearan is a police officer.
3- Hang Jung is a police officer.
4- Ma Meng Thi is the publisher of Prohm Khan Online newspaper
5- Unknown identity.


Please be reminded that on the morning of September 30, 2020, more than 100 joint police forces launched a large-scale operation using dozens of vehicles to investigate the scenes of the massive encroachment on the state's forest land in Mondulkiri.
The National Commission for the Prevention and Suppression of Forest Crimes, led by General Hou Sakun and Lt. Gen. Hong Vinol, inspected hundreds of hectares of forest cleared at Phnom Kbal Khmoch and Phnom Roham near the Cambodian-Vietnamese border in Po village Chob Dak Dam commune, Oreang district, Mondulkiri province. Arrests and detentions are still on-going.

CEO News: Putting this here as a point of interest, but not implying anything at all.

Vietnam's wood products export up 12.4 pct in 10 months
Xinhua
05 Nov 2020, 15:44 GMT+10

HANOI, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam exported over 9.6 billion U.S. dollars worth of wood and wood products in the first 10 months of this year, up 12.4 percent year on year, according to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry on Thursday.

For the period, the major buyers included China, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and the United States, said the administration.

In October alone, Vietnam reaped nearly 1.2 billion U.S. dollars from exporting wood and wood products, marking an increase of 11.1 percent year on year.

Between January and October, Vietnam spent over 2 billion U.S. dollars in importing wood and wood products, down 3.3 percent year on year, according to the forestry administration.

In 2019, Vietnam earned over 10.5 billion U.S. dollars from exporting wood and wood products, up 18.2 percent year on year, with China, Japan and the United States among the major markets.
https://www.cambodiantimes.com/news/266 ... -10-months