Businesses in Phnom Penh have been ordered to dismantle signs and advertisements erected on public property without the permission of City Hall.

In a letter sent to businesses on Wednesday and published on the city’s website yesterday, City Hall said companies found to have been flouting the city’s regulations on public advertising would face fines if they did not take down the adverts.

“The advertisement banners and posters have seriously affected the aesthetic, public order and the social make-up of the city,” the letter says. “The owners of these signs must stop immediately all the activities to erect and install [the adverts] on electric posts, trees, the walls of state and public buildings, as well as private buildings where the owners do not have permission.”

City Hall spokesman Long Dimanche would not name companies included in the letter. “We have just told them to remove their advertisements. If they will not follow the rules, they will be fined,” he added.