Three men in Banteay Meanchey were provisionally charged yesterday for allegedly attempting to set up a village on a social land concession, a move one official called “anarchic”.

The three men – Preab Phe, Duk Moeun and Han Hun – were arrested on Sunday and provisionally charged by the provincial court for “infringement against public property”, according to court spokesman Sok Keo Bandit.

Phlon Dara, Banteay Meanchey’s provincial military chief, said the trio had persuaded 86 villagers to build a settlement on 100 hectares of a social land concession last month, which had been granted to military veterans.

The villagers had previously been allowed to only plant their crops on some of the land, but Phe allegedly started to divide the land last month for housing.

Dara claimed that Phe identified an “excellency” named Dy Proem as being behind the scheme. Dy Proem is the name of one of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cousins, who was previously convicted for a fraudulent land deal.

Keo Bandit declined to comment on Proem’s alleged involvement in the case.