More than 150 people claiming to be victims of fraud at the Borey VIP gated community project in Spean Thmor commune in the capital’s Dangkor district sought the intervention of Prime Minister Hun Sen after not receiving the homes they had paid for by instalment over the past several years.
Ten representatives of the families submitted a petition on November 26 to the prime minister’s office requesting his intervention with the RN VIP Real Estate Co Ltd and their Borey VIP to force the company to finish construction and hand over the titles on the homes that they purchased and have been paying for under a contract that expired two to three years ago.
“We purchased houses from Borey VIP starting in 2018 and they have not completed the houses as scheduled... When we requested a meeting to resolve these issues, the company refused and kept making excuses when dealing with us,” the group’s petition says.
Yim Ratha, one of the representatives, told The Post on November 28 that they had filed a complaint with the district and with the municipal hall seeking their intervention many times but the company still had not provided them with any solutions.
“In the past the authorities have helped to mediate [these disputes], but the Borey has not given us any hope because after
the meeting the Borey still hasn’t had their construction workers working at the site. When we asked for another meeting, they declined,” he said.
According to Ratha, there are more than 150 victims but not all of them are in the exact same situation. Some of them paid down payments and have not received any property titles while others have homes where the construction has never been completed.
He said some people have continued to pay their monthly instalments, but the company has not continued to work on the construction of their home as promised.
He claimed that the company’s contract with the buyers said it would complete their homes within 12 months. But the company failed to complete construction on the homes and pushed back the contract’s end date to three or four years and have yet to put anyone to work finishing the construction.
Kong Chamroeun, representative for the prime minister’s office, told The Post on November 28 that the cabinet had not yet officially received the petition but they have instructed the petitioners to prepare proper documentation of what took place in advance as the case will first be diverted to Dangkor district authorities to resolve.
“Dangkor district hall has advised them to arrange themselves into groups according to the terms of their purchases – some are fully paid, some are on instalment, and some have even finished their instalment payments. So their demands are different because of that. This must be done according to legal procedures in case this situation requires them to file lawsuits in court,” he said.
Vorn Vannak, CEO of RN VIP Real Estate Co Ltd and Borey VIP, told The Post on November 28 that his company was meeting to provide solutions and respond to customer complaints on November 29.
“Our company’s principle is to always deal proactively with any complaints. The company is willing to solve these problems as they are encountered ... As for other issues, I can’t speak to them all at this time, but the people’s statements are sometimes right and sometimes wrong,” he said.
