The Siem Reap provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries fined the owner of a log warehouse on Friday after seizing more than 20 cubic metres of illegal timber the day before.
Department director Tea Kim Soth identified the owner as Sambo Manna, a 39-year-old woman residing at Sala Kamroeuk commune’s Trapaing Treng village.
She was fined on Friday under the Law on Forestry, he said.
“We have fined the owner of the illegally stocked timber, but I don’t know how much was issued as fines. But I can confirm that more than 20 cubic metres of timber were seized,” he said.
Provincial deputy police chief Mok Theara, told The Post on Sunday that Manna had cooperated with law enforcement officials.
He said Manna bought the wood from various resellers outside of Siem Reap to build a house, but she had no intention of trading it.
“They are first grade timber including sokrom and koki. There were 879 logs measuring a total of 20.905 cubic metres.
“We transported the timber to the Forestry Administration in Banteay Srei district, and the owner has paid the fine according to the Law on Forestry,” he said.
He said the anti-economic crime police cooperated with the Forestry Administration and local authorities to check and crack down on the storage site.
The officials found many kinds of timber, but most of it was of first grade sakrom and koki.
Provincial Forestry Administration director Mong Bunlim could not be reached for comment on Sunday but he confirmed the crackdown happened on Thursday.
Bunlim said the facility was only used for storage and couldn’t process wood into goods like furniture.
On Friday, the Royal Cambodian Gendarmerie’s Facebook page (GRK News) reported a similar case which also occurred on Thursday.
Preah Vihear provincial military police, in cooperation with the Tbeng Meanchey district Forestry Administration, cracked down on three illegal wood processing handicraft outlets in difference areas of Palhal commune.
The warehouse owners were made to sign contracts stating they would dismantle the facilities by themselves.
