Speaking at a meeting with council officials and heads of provincial departments and units in Banteay Meanchey on the morning of June 11, Acting Head of State Samdech Techo Hun Sen announced that he would personally summon traders importing frozen meat from Thailand for questioning to identify all officials involved.
Hun Sen said action would be taken not only against the importers but also against officials who had colluded with the traders to bring the frozen meat into Cambodia. He said he would continue identifying more traders importing goods from Thailand. He described the measures as a response to Thailand's economic pressure on Cambodia through announcements cutting electricity and halting fuel supplies from the early stages of the border dispute.
The report says that on June 10, officers found locations holding hundreds of tonnes of frozen meat imported from Thailand in three Phnom Penh districts: Prek Pnov, Russey Keo and Sen Sok. The products included hot dogs, chicken joints, meatballs and other frozen meat held in three separate warehouses.
Hun Sen added that Thailand had closed its border with Cambodia for a year without causing Cambodia problems with goods supplies. By contrast, he said, Thailand had lost approximately US$10 billion in revenue from sales of goods to Cambodia.
By: ង៉ែត ពិសាន្ត
