Phnom Penh (FN), May 6 – Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFA) announced today, May 6, that the Embassy in Thailand is intervening for the sake of 29 Cambodians accused of illegal logging and migration in Thailand.

In the morning of May 4, 2016, a group of 29 Cambodians were apprehended by Thai authorities while they were carrying rosewood down from the mountain to the plain of Thap Lan National Park, Prachinburi province of Thailand when an unidentified man fired a gunshot as a signal for the Cambodian workers to split up and escape. However, there was no exchange of gunfire between the Thai authorities and Cambodian loggers. Eleven of the workers, as a result were arrested by Thai police and the other 18 just reported themselves to the Thai police because they could not find their ways, according to the announcement.

The 29 Cambodians told that their group consists of 60 members and having spent over 10 days in Thailand by the time of their arrest, because they were cheated that they were hired to log eucalyptus trees with a payment of Bath200 per tree. They were split into two groups to carry the already-logged trees down the hill. The 29 loggers were apprehended and sent to the police station together with a chainsaw and a vehicle belonging to a Thai owner. Later on the same day, another 18 Cambodians reported themselves to the police because they could not find their ways, said the Ministry in its announcement.

In any case, the 29 were sent to the court for illegally migrating into Thailand.

Cambodia’s General Consular told Thai Authorities that those Cambodians were just victims who were cheated to carry the already-logged trees and that the chainsaw did not belong to them. The consular will collaborate with Thai Authorities to examine the case, looking into the possibility of lenient charges and providing lawyers for them at the trial.
=FRESHNEWS