" The venue has already been ordered to shut down its operations several times, but the owner, Zhou Jianhua, won’t comply. Sihanoukville city officials are now reaching the end of their patience and a spokesperson, Kheang Phyrum, asserts, “We will forcefully demolish the casino and file a complaint to the court. The casino has operated without a license and there are no permits from local authorities. Those two reasons are enough.” "

Wonder many warnings will it take before the Cambodian authorities actually so something (ie shut the place down immediately), apart from sending letters that the Chinese just laugh at & ignore ?

The young man from Mother Nature is taking a big risk.

frank lee bent wrote: ↑Mon May 27, 2019 4:00 am The young man from Mother Nature is taking a big risk.

because of the hat....Right?


just sayin'

Bertros


(BTW, if these folks had one of those 'gofundme' deals, it might actually be worth tossing them a few riels)

http://www.mothernaturecambodia.org/get-involved.html

Bravest young men and women in the country.
And their successes are astonishing.

Island casino’s fate to be decided
Khorn Savi | Publication date 28 May 2019 | 08:46 ICT


Deputy provincial governor Mang Sineth headed a team of specialised officers and other authorities to visit Jinding Hotel and Casino on Friday and order the casino to cease operating. Photo supplied
A preah Sihanouk provincial official said on Monday that the administration would request approval from the Ministry of Environment and the National Committee for Coastal Management and Development to dismantle a Chinese casino on Koh Rong Sanloem.

Jinding Hotel and Casino was ordered to be shut down by a group of officials for a third time late last week.

It was originally ordered to close on March 11 after authorities claimed it had flushed raw sewage into the sea, made excessive noise, possessed an expired business licence and was constructed on the beach without permission.

Provincial Hall spokesman Kheang Phearum told The Post on Monday that the casino is located on National Park land under the management of the Ministry of Environment and the National Committee for Coastal Management and Development and, as such, permission must be granted by those institutions before it can be dismantled.

“The first step is that we have requested the owner to shut it down. Regarding the dismantling of the building, the provincial administration will decide how to proceed,” he said.

Phearum said recently that Jinding’s owner, a Chinese national named Zhou Jianhua, had defied the authorities’ instructions to close the casino and had continued to secretly run a gambling operation.

On May 24, deputy provincial governor Mang Sineth headed a team of specialised officers and other authorities to visit the premises and once again order the casino to cease operating.

Phearum said following this order, Jinding had now closed. He said if Jianhua does not remove the structure himself, the authorities will dismantle it with the owner covering the cost.

Provincial Department of Environment director Samuth Sothearith said the authorities are working step by step towards demolishing the building.

“We are working on the matter. When a joint working group went to inspect it, we found that it wasn’t operating anymore. As to how to proceed now, the committee will decide what to do at a meeting with senior leadership,” Sothearith said.

Koh Rong Sanloem commune chief Chhoeun Chantha said that a Chinese national had rented the site early last year and that a restaurant had existed there for several years.

“A Chinese national rented the land. It was originally a restaurant on the beach – a simple restaurant – then the Chinese man converted it into a casino,” Chantha said.

Cheap Sotheary, the provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said the provincial authorities could enforce the dismantling of the casino without permission from the national level because it was deemed an illegal construction on the beach.

He said failure to enforce the law was the reason some Chinese nationals were undaunted by the local authorities and Cambodian laws.

“I have seen in the past that our authorities, even those at the national level, seem to strongly protect the interests of investors,” Sotheary said.

Cambodian Activists Demand Destruction of Shuttered Chinese Casino
2019-09-24
Cambodian environmental activists have called for the demolition of a shuttered Chinese-owned casino accused of polluting an adjacent beach, saying that if the structure is not torn down it will likely be reopened at a later date.
Mother Nature photo
The Jin Ding Hotel and Casino located on Preah Sihanouk province’s Koh Rong Samloem Island, a popular tourist destination, was ordered to close in May because it was operating without a license and was releasing untreated sewage directly into the sea.

Other violations charged against Jin Ding and leading to its closure included the playing of loud music on the beach and the promotion of illegal online betting games, sources told RFA in earlier reports.

The petition now filed by the Cambodia-based group Mother Nature with court officials in Preah Sihanouk province calls for the casino’s complete destruction, citing repeated delays by Cambodian authorities to fulfill promises to tear it down.

Speaking to RFA’s Khmer Service on Tuesday, Mother Nature activist Long Kunthea said provincial officials have been slow and unwilling to implement the law, remove structures from the site, and bring the casino’s owner to court.

“I think that authorities have been relaxing their enforcement of the law and have been moving much too slowly, because from May until now in September they haven’t moved on this and say only that they are waiting for permission to proceed,” she said.

If provincial officials ignore the environmental group’s petition and continue to allow the resort’s structures to stand, young Cambodians will march in Preah Sihanouk to demand that authorities do their job, Long Kunthea said.

Also speaking to RFA, spokesman for the Preah Sihanouk provincial court Kheang Phearum said that authorities have not yet set a date to remove casino structures, saying that the resort is in any case no longer in operation.
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambod ... 60414.html

I have seen this scene IRL on Sokha beach in Sihanoukville. Wasn't so funny actually.

Activists in Cambodia March Against Polluting Casino
2019-10-18

They’re demanding the demolition of a shuttered Chinese-owned casino accused of polluting a Sihanoukville beach.
Video link here: https://www.rfa.org/english/video?v=1_rz23vsaa

Cambodian Monks, Activists March to Demand Casino’s Destruction
2019-10-16
A group of Cambodian monks and environmental activists entered their second day of a nine-day march on Wednesday to the coastal city of Sihanoukville to demand the demolition of a shuttered Chinese-owned casino accused of polluting a local beach.

Cambodian activists have long called for the demolition of the Jin Ding Casino and hotel on Koh Rong Samloem Island, a popular tourist destination, saying that if the structure is not torn down it will likely be reopened at a later date.

The casino was ordered to close in May because it was operating without a license, promoting illegal online betting games, and releasing untreated sewage directly into the sea, but Cambodian authorities have delayed repeatedly fulfilling promises to tear it down.

Speaking to RFA’s Khmer Service on Wednesday, Buddhist monk Keut Saray said that authorities in Kompong Speu province, which lies along the protesters’ route of march to the coast, had ordered local monasteries to refuse shelter to the group.

“Senior monks at two of those monasteries told me that officials from the Provincial Department of Cults and Religions had ordered them not to provide us with places to sleep,” he said.

Members of the group, which started from the capital Phnom Penh on Oct. 15 with two activists and three monks and now numbers ten, have vowed to continue with their march regardless, insisting that authorities now move ahead to demolish Jin Ding.

Also speaking to RFA, Thun Ratha—an activist with the environmental advocacy group Mother Nature—said that after the monasteries turned them away, the group had slept in tents in an open field.

“We will keep going to fulfill our goal,” he said. “We urge provincial authorities to follow through with what they said they are going to do after ordering the owner of the Jin Ding casino [to tear the facility down].”

After leaving Phnom Penh, participants in the march were followed closely by police who monitored their progress and took photos, but police turned back as the march crossed into Kandal province, group members said, adding that the group’s size has been kept small to avoid attracting troublemakers.
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambod ... 72348.html

Dunno why they are giving the peaceful protesting monks a hard time.. If the casino didn't have a licence presumably they also didn't have approval to erect the building? And hence can be removed?