 |
| Officials seize 2 tonnes of illegal rosewood from the home of “Grandma May” in Oddar Meanchey province in February. Photo supplied |
Vietnamese timber trader ‘Grandma May’ flees after order to arrest her
Phnom Penh Post | 19 June 2017
A Vietnamese national reputed to be a prominent illegal timber
trader is believed to have fled to her native country after the Oddar
Meanchey provincial governor ordered her arrest last week.
Following numerous reports
about her purported crimes on local news outlets, Provincial Governor
Sar Thavy on Wednesday ordered the arrest of Nguyen Thimay, also known
as “Grandma May”, for her alleged involvement in the illegal purchase
and transportation of timber.
“The press reported that Vietnamese national May buys and hauls
rosewood without any intervention from authorities, so I ordered the
arrest of May,” Thavy said yesterday, adding that the suspect is thought
to have escaped to Vietnam.
Apart from forestry crimes, last month, May was accused by villagers
in Oddar Meanchey province of ordering her workers to set a
timber-loaded vehicle on fire in order to destroy evidence.
During a crackdown on Saturday, over 270 kilograms of rosewood were
seized in Trapaing Prasat district after the car carrying it was
intercepted by authorities, who believe the timber belonged to May,
although “there is no evidence to prove it”, said District Governor Nouv
Samdararith.
Srey Naren, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, supported
the order for the suspect’s arrest, but criticised the decision to make
it public “because it makes the traders escape”.
No comments:
Post a Comment