There Is Concern about Gem Depletion while Pailin Expert Official Claimed 50% Still Remain

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 633 - Thursday, 8.10.2009

"Pailin: Valuable gem ore in Pailin is facing depletion at present, because wicked merchants are using machinery to aggressively extract large amounts of gems, while expert officials said that they did not know anything, but now they will take action.

"According to officials of the province, merchants deploy machinery to extract gems at two sites at the Phnom Teuk Chenh region in Teuk Chenh village, Stung Kach commune, Sala Krao district, Pailin. According to that source, there are two groups of merchants who use gem sieving machinery to extract large amounts of gems in that region. The Stung Kach commune chief, Mr. Kang Chheng, told Koh Santepheap via telephone in the morning of 7 October 2009 that he did not know that merchants are extracting large amounts of gem in an area under his control by using such machinery. This commune chief said that he is at present busy with checking the election voter name lists. Therefore, he has not gone to check the sites where merchants are extracting gems.

"But an official, who asked not to be named, said that the two groups of merchants have been running their operations for many years, and they always move to every place in Pailin to explore and extract gems. But they set up also permanent sites at the Phnom Teuk Chenh region since January 2009. Among the two merchant groups, one is controlled by Sreng Kong Sri, and this man lets Dy, called Ta Sak Sar, lead the group, but who is controlling the other group is not known. The same source said that the authorities should not say that they knew nothing about the use of the machineries and the merchants who actively explore gem, because they have operated for many years, and if there were no permissions from the authorities or from expert officials, how could those merchants have done so?

"Regarding the above issue, the head of the Department of Industry, Mines, and Energy of the Province, Mr. Ea Hoeun, told Koh Santepheap in the morning of 7 October 2009 that before, he had known that there were really merchants who extract gems, adding 'But we summoned and told them to stop their operations, and to remove all machineries a few days ago already.' Anyway, according to citizens living in the Phnom Teuk Chenh region, in the morning of 7 October 2009, all machinery was not yet removed, but it was just seen that the operations were suspended, simply because those merchants had been informed to remain quiet temporarily to see the situation. It is believed that the operations will start again after there is green light from expert officials.

"It should be noted that many types of gem ore in Pailin, especially in the town, were almost totally exhausted by Siamese [Thai] merchants during the wartime in Cambodia. However, Mr. Ea Hoeun claimed that there still might be 50% of valuable gems remaining, except in the area of the town itself, where there is little left.

"In the morning of 7 October 2009, Koh Santepheap could not reach the two groups of merchants for comment via telephone. Commune officials said that they had all switched off their phones." Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6773, 8.10.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Thursday, 8 October 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #305, 8.10.2009

• The European Union Granted More Than US$7 Million for Livestock Programs in Cambodia from 2005 to 2010
• The Director of a Health Center Cursed Journalists [and human rights officials] when They Asked about a Dead Patient [whose body was put in a room together with other patients for many hours], and about Electricity Cut-Offs [Poipet]
• Cambodia Will Investigate Alleged Organ Transplants and Human Trafficking [Agnes Chan - 陳美齡 and 陈美龄- Chén Měilíng; in Japanese: アグネス・チャン - a Hong Kong-born singer and a Good Will Ambassador of the Japan Committee of UNICEF, was quoted by the Japan Times as saying that in Cambodia, some babies are sold for adoption or for organ transplants for Yen 5,000 - approx. US$56, while some teenagers are bought for labor or for marriage for less than Yen 10,000 - approx. US$112]

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2066, 8.10.2009

• The Company That Has Sufficient Qualifications and Offers Much Benefit to Cambodia Will Win the Bidding to Explore Oil in Region 4
• The United States of America Helps Train Officials of the Cambodian Mine Action Center [and grants US$200,000]

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #504, 8.10.2009

• [The president of the National Assembly] Mr. Heng Samrin Said that Ms. Mu Sochua Has the Right to Express Her Opinion at the National Assembly [he said that some journalists and radio stations misunderstand that Ms. Mu Sochua would be absent because she does not have immunity, but actually, she has her other rights as a parliamentarian]
• Twenty One Police Generals [over the age of 60] Were Sent into Retirement
• Calmette Hospital Charged Money from an A/H1N1 Swine Flu Patient [claimed the family of an A/H1N1 patient who died recently, after Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Minster of Heath, Mr. Mam Bunheng, had announced that all A/H1N1 patients will be treated free of charge]

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6773, 8.10.2009

• There Is Concern about Gem Depletion while Pailin Expert Official Claimed 50% Still Remain
• Worldwide Petroleum Services [not easy to identify on the Internet] Is Interested in Exploring Oil in Region 4 [in the Cambodian sea]
• Samdech Euv [former King] and Samdech Mae [former Queen] Donate US$50,000 to the Cambodian Red Cross [to assist citizens suffering from typhoons and floods]

Phnom Penh Post, Vol.1, #21, 8.10.2009

• Six High Ranking Officials [the president of the Senate, Mr. Chea Sim, the president of the National Assembly, Mr. Heng Samrin, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hor Namhong, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Keat Chhon, and two more senators] Are Summoned by a Foreign Investigating Judge to Testify over Case 2 at the Khmer Rouge Trial
• An Article to Protect Underage People Was Adopted
• The Price of Rubber Increased by 37% within the Last Nine Months [from US$1,419 per tonne in January to US$1,950 in October 2009]
• The Philippines Needs Aid of US$74 Million [for about one million people who suffer from typhoons and floods]

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5015, 8.10.2009

• Samdech Euv [former King] Wants to Die as Soon as Possible [he said that living too long is difficult]
• Five People Died of Drowning on the Same Day [Kompong Cham]

Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1803, 8.10.2009

• [Illegal] Football Betting Is Thriving like Mushrooms after [Prime Minister] Hun Sen Ordered the Cambosix [gambling] Company to Close

Have a look at the last editorial - you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
And please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.

Back to top

• Login to post comments
• 3873 reads
• Printer-friendly version