The Kep provincial authority on Thursday gave several families who had built their homes illegally on the beach three days to dismantle them.

Before the announcement, some villagers were still building their homes while others managed to demarcate their unlawful properties with wooden poles They were also prepared to build more houses on the beach in Damnak Chang’aeur district’s Angkaol commune, according to district governor Kim Channy.

Channy said the houses that had been built there were small and took just a few days to construct.

“Three families had already finished building their houses on the beach. More villagers had demarcated areas using wooden poles, in preparation of building houses,” Channy said.

She said district officials inspected the area on Thursday and ordered the villagers to remove their properties within three days.