Weigh station officials inspect overloaded truck in Kratie province last year. MPWT
Ministry of Public Works and Transport officials will investigate two weigh stations in Kratie province after they have been accused of taking money from truck drivers before letting them pass through with overloaded trucks and avoid compulsory inspections.
Information recently came to light of allegations that officials at the Chitr Borei district weigh station and another in Snuol district were flouting regulations.
Local media reports claimed the owners of heavy trucks were paying around 150,000 riel ($40) to officials to ignore the rules – according to truck drivers who spoke to the media.
Taing Pov, head of the ministry’s secretariat, told The Post on March 14 that he had heard about these allegations. He said the ministry would investigate the claims and legal action would follow if wrongdoing was discovered.
“I will investigate, because monitoring the weigh stations is one of our priorities. Please be patient,” he said.
Provincial governor Va Thorn declined to confirm whether the allegations were true, saying only that he would look into it.
“If it is related to corruption, I believe the Anti-Corruption Unit should look into the case. With that being said, the transport ministry administers the weigh-stations, so perhaps it falls under their jurisdiction ... but I will conduct my own enquiries,” he said.
Provincial transport department director Saing Buntheng could not be reached for comment on March 14.
In mid-February, Kandal provincial transport officials requested the transfer of administrative staff from five weighing stations after corruption allegations emerged during an operation to crack down on overloaded vehicles.
From October 2021 to the end of February this year, transport ministry teams seized 136 vehicles which were overloaded by more than 20 per cent of the legal limit.
The vehicles were impounded by officials at weigh stations across the country, not long after Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the release of 249 overloaded vehicles that had been slated to be held for one year. The premier said at the time that the early releases were made in an effort to encourage economic recovery following Covid-19 lockdowns.
