Chhy Chakrya, also known as Hang Prinya, is facing accusations of fraud for not issuing land titles. Police
Over 100 victims are demanding that a company called Than Preah In compensate them after they invested money to buy plots but never received the land titles or refunds.
A Facebook post by a user named Neak Rongkruos Doy Sar Company Than Preah In said the company’s director, Chhy Chakrya, also known as Hang Prinya, had cheated them out of money and closed the company’s offices before escaping.
The owner of the page, who chose to remain anonymous, told The Post on Monday that he had been cheated out of more than $40,000 by the company after he bought 3ha from it in Siem Reap province last year.
At first, he said the company would issue land titles within six months, but a year passed, and then the company closed all of its branches.
“There are hundreds of victims and some of them are still being cheated by this company. After the post, we gathered nearly 100 victims,” he said.
The owner of the page said after the victims are gathered, they would follow legal procedures and file a complaint with the courts next week.
Another victim, Ngor Lyheang, filed a complaint with the Siem Reap provincial court on March 20 and told The Post on Monday that people had spent their hard-earned money on the land, borrowed from banks, and invested in the company in the hopes of seeing some returns.
When the company ran into problems, he said they couldn’t repay the banks and this disrupted their livelihoods.
Lyheang said: “I filed the complaint alone, and I want to have my money back. I spent $18,500 on buying plots and plantation land.
“I want it to be known that this company is a cheat. I am also participating in filing a joint complaint with other victims.”
Chakrya posted a nine-minute clip on his Facebook page on Monday, saying he had not evaded the responsibility of paying his clients.
He said his company closed its doors after running into financial problems, but it hadn’t gone bankrupt and was still operating. Moreover, he said he had met his clients to resolve the problem.
“At present, despite the problem, I don’t have any desire to abandon clients whom I used to believe in. Ten months ago, I took the opinion that the company should be sold to others and declare bankruptcy, and then I would get away from it.
“I am willing to accept the case because we owe them, and we will pay them back. It is not wrong for them to sue us. The clients bought land from us and they have not yet obtained the titles. If they sue us, it is not wrong. But if we run away, we are wrong,” he said.
He said his company could continue operating as long as clients continue believing in it, because the company still has land in many places, and it could be given to clients as compensation.
