The elected leader of the Phnom Chum Rok Sat community forest committee, Moeung Ratha, also a member of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and a former district councilor, confiscated timber cut from the community forest by the mining company Lin Vatey. He brought the timber to the community’s ecotourism office. After he did that, he was questioned by military police.

Later in June, Ratha was arrested and sent to pretrial detention on charges of clearing state-owned land. Ratha remains in prison awaiting trial.