Kandal provincial governor Mao Phirun is suing a company deputy director Ly Samet for “public defamation and insult” after he alleged in a Facebook post that the former was involved in land grabbing and presented a false report to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The case will be heard at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court at 3pm on August 22.

Phirun told The Post on Tuesday that Samet insulted and defamed him on Facebook, while he is the provincial governor who is fulfilling his duties legally, as assigned by the government.

“The Facebook post is defaming and intimidating. I wish to state that as the provincial governor, I have fulfilled my duties as per the law and through the government and experts.

“Ly Samet claims he is a deputy director-general of Eng Dypo Development Company. He is working illegally. Since the beginning, this company has never respected the law and what the government tells it to implement has not been done,” Phirun said.

Phirun claimed that the company had destroyed the state’s property and people’s land, which they have the right to cultivate, but instead the company keeps challenging the government.

“Therefore, we have no choice but to impose the law on this company. This is just the beginning and there are more cases to come.

“In this case, I just filed a complaint on grounds of defamation and intimidation as he has twisted [the facts] and insulted [me] without understanding my task or the law,” Phirun added.

Samet could not be reached for comment.