Residents of the Borei Keila community in Phnom Penh have accused the tycoon landowner who has sought to have them evicted from their homes of releasing dogs at the site in the hope they would attack the protestors.
Suy Sophan, who controls the Phan Imex company that owns the land where the community lives, was accused of releasing the dogs who reportedly attacked at least one woman.
Sophan took over the site in 2012 and attempted to evict the residents without offering them compensation.
“She used violence against us. She doesn’t know how to react to us but releasing dogs to bite us. She didn’t pay attention to us,” said Phok Sophin, a resident.
Sophin said her home was bulldozed in 2012 along with about 300 others when Phan Imex took over the area.
“I appealed also to Prime Minister Hun Sen to look at the poor because he was elected for this sixth mandate, please look at us and don't let your subordinates to treat us badly like that,” Sophin added.
In December 2017, a deputy municipal governor Mean Chanyada issued a notice claiming that more than 90 percent of residents had agreed to leave the area and receive compensation. But some families have refused to leave because they say they were promised new housing at the site which has yet to materialize.
Sophan could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Meth Meas Pheakdey, a spokesman for City Hall, also could not be reached.
