Sugar mill rebukes Cambodia land grab reports
Thailand’s giant sugar mill Mitr Phol Group disputed news reports referring to land dispute claims and Thai Civil Court proceedings on Friday, claiming that the reports are unfounded.
The company referred to news reports on Thursday in the Phnom Penh Post and the website www.inclusivedelopment.net which claim that the Thai court has accepted Cambodia's land dispute claims and ordered the company to proceed with mediation.
“Mitr Phol Group would like to clarify that this information is incorrect and that preliminary hearings at the Thai civil court have not yet taken place due to the plaintiff’s lack of readiness to testify,” it said in a statement.
“The civil court has insisted on clarification from the plaintiff and asked the plaintiff’s lawyers to comply with the required court procedures,” it said.
The Phnom Penh Post also referred to the Inclusive Development International (IDI) statement on Wednesday, which claims that the Thai company's subsidiaries, including Angkor Sugar Company, forcibly displaced over 7,000 Cambodian farming families between 2008 and 2009. About 9,430 hectares of farmland were affected in the takeover by the Thai company.
