An Indian national who was leasing a hotel from two Cambodians in Daun Penh district has filed a complaint against them for breach of contract, claiming they sold the building without providing him proper compensation as per their contract.

Sahni Vikas was renting the property from Cambodian nationals Chher Pitou and Chheang Chheng Y based on an agreement for the period from November 2018 to November 2023 at a rate of $4,500 per month and a deposit of $54,000.

Vikas said his landlords sold the property to a third party without compensating him by returning the deposit and offering a six-month cancellation fee.

He said he always paid all his rental fees, utility fees and staff salaries on time up until December last year.

“On December 14, last year, the lessee [Vikas] travelled to Vietnam. In Vietnam, the lessee had a traffic accident and lost his mobile phone, laptop and bank cards. Having lost the phone and being injured, the lessee could not be reached,” the complaint said.

He said his landlords collaborated with a new owner to tell guests to leave and force staff to abandon their jobs. The new owner then prevented the lessee from entering the compound.

The complaint said when recovering from his injuries, Vikas had tried to contact a phone number of the hotel on several occasions, but no one answered.

The landlords claimed they tried to reach Vikas and that he didn’t pay the rental fee for December.

Pitou told The Post on Monday that the building was sold to Lao Anny and the Vikas’deposit was handed over to the new owner.

He claimed that though the building had changed owners, the lease was still valid for Vikas.

Vikas, Pitou claimed, had abandoned the lease of the building on his own. The new owner tried to meet him on several occasions, he claimed.

“I was said to have breached the contract, but I did not do so. Before selling it, I called him [Vikas] to buy it, but he has no money. I allowed him to rent it, but he ran away for two or three months.

“He has no money to pay me. In the sale contract, I still rent it to him and the new owner agrees to the lease. But he abandoned it and the new owner is waiting for him. Upon waiting for him too long, the new owner entered to tidy up the property,” he said.

Pitou claimed that the new owner was prepared to file a countersuit against Vikas for defamation. Neither Vikas nor a lawyer for Lao Anny could be reached for comment on Monday.

Vikas’ complaint was filed with the Phnom Penh municipal police and noted he was facing money shortages, had no safe place to stay, or any food and is seeking his deposit back to return to his country.

Phnom Penh police chief Sar Thet could not be reached for comment on Monday.