RATANAKKIRI: President of the Cambodian Farmers' Community Association (CCFC), Theng Savoeun, and two other associates were arrested last week in the Kratie province on their way to Phnom Penh and were sent to Ratanakkiri for charges of conspiracy and incitement of social chaos in Ratanakkiri.

Khieu Sopheak, a spokesperson for the National Police, confirmed to EAC News that the arrest of Theng Savoeun and two other members of the CCFC came after Ratanakkiri authorities received information from participants in an agricultural training session led by Savoeun, which they believe took a political turn.

"He told the hotel he rented for the training to cut off the cameras and the people in the group to turn in their phones and put them in a box," he said. He stated that this made the participants wonder if this was something other than agricultural training, so they reported it to the police. Following the training, the police searched and arrested the three suspects in the Kratie province during their drive back to Phnom Penh.

According to Sopheak, the three suspects were detained on May 22, 2023 on charges of conspiracy and inciting social unrest. He confirmed that the authorities will continue to investigate the case. The next afternoon, community members protested for the release of the three CCFC members at the Ministry of Justice.