The National Committee for Prevention and Crackdown on Natural Resource Crimes has temporarily closed 151 timber processing facilities in Stung Treng province after they were found to be operating illegally.

Provincial Hall spokesman Men Kong said the committee inspected 165 facilities and ordered 151 to be shut down.

He said 37 timber processing machines were seized in the operation and were being kept at the Forestry Administration, while 23 trucks were set on fire.

“Some of the facilities have been completely shut down, while in some cases we required the owners to sign a contract and request permission to resume operating legally.

“If they receive permission, we will require them to respect the authorities’ instructions regarding the size of their businesses. But if they fail to comply, we will shut them down permanently,” Kong said.

Additionally, he said, the authorities inspected timber-selling depots throughout the province, but some timber was yet to be measured. All the facilities were owned by Cambodian nationals, Kong said.

Eng Hy, the spokesman for the Military Police and the committee, said the committee’s chairman was monitoring the officials’ activities and listening to their reports, but a detailed report had not yet been written.

“The chairman of the committee will hold another meeting to publicise the results once a detailed report is completed, but I cannot yet give you a specific time. The activities of the committee continue,” he said.

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces deputy commander-in-chief Sao Sokha, who is the committee’s chairman, arrived in Stung Treng province on Friday after having cracked down on forestry crimes in Kampong Thom, Kratie, Mondulkiri, Preah Vihear and Ratanakkiri provinces.

Addressing a committee meeting in Stung Treng province, he said most of the offenders had secretly logged forests in preservation areas and taken the timber to be processed at illegal logging facilities on economic and social land concessions.

“We had to enforce a complete crackdown on all the facilities,” Sokha said.

Ho Sam Ol, Stung Treng provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said he supported the authorities’ actions as little had been done in the province recently to combat deforestation.

In addition to cracking down on crime, seizing evidence and burning trucks, he said, the authorities should take action against the offenders and all those involved.

“We ask that forestry crimes carry a 15-year prison sentence – and people who committed offences five or six years ago must have their cases reviewed. Oknhas [tycoons] who used to be in the business should also be brought to justice,” Sam Ol said.