A villager Koh Kong’s Botum Sakor district was killed after an excavator ran over. Then, a claim going viral on social media said the man killing came after he tried to defend his land from clearance in a land dispute. The claim had been widely shared by Khmer-speaking social media users; many of them criticized the killing. However, after getting clarifications from relevant sources, we found the claim was false.
SOCIAL MEDIA CLAIM
A piece of news that went viral on social media two weeks ago said a villager in Koh Kong province was killed after an excavator ran over because he tried to defend his land from clearance in a land dispute in Botum Sakor district.
The news piece was circulated on social media with a photo of the man in a white t-shirt and a short trouser buried in mud, and a group of policemen examined the killing.
The claim had been shared more than 20,000 times by Khmer-speaking social media users; many of them criticized the cruelty related to a land dispute.
Below is the capture of the viral claim circulated on Facebook on February 27, 2024, which said “This is a case of an excavator running over a villager in Koh Kong province as he tried to defend his land. This case is cruel.”
The news piece was also circulated by other social media users which led to many shares, comments, and reactions from Facebook users.
Below is the capture of the viral claim circulated on February 28, 2024, which said “Oh my Khmer, this is a case of an excavator running over a man in Koh Kong province because he tried to defend his land from clearance. This case is cruel.”
Below is another capture from the Facebook post which said the same thing about the killing.
The same claim which was widely circulated on social media platform can be read here 1 (archived), 2 (archived), 3 (archived), and 4 (archived).
FACT CHECK
Fact Crescendo Cambodia began debunking the claim above by interviewing sources acknowledging the case. Then, we found out the facts below.
The news piece was firstly circulated on social media on February 27, 2024, by a Facebook page named Koh Kong Hote News – a social media page owned by a local reporter.
The Facebook page reported Sat Sakhorn, 36, a villager in Andong Tek commune, was run over by an excavator some days ago, and the family made a funeral on February 26, 2024.
The report said the man rent the excavator to clear his own land and dig a pond. Unfortunately, he was run over by the excavator.
However, the report said nothing about his involvement in any land dispute in the local communities and area. Read the full Facebook post here.
Responding to Fact Crescendo Cambodia via a phone call, a local journalist Yuon Liv who claimed himself the owner of Koh Kong Hot News said the man killing does not related to any land dispute.
The reporter added he went down to the village and met the family who said their man had no relation to any land dispute.
After the news piece was widely shared, Botum Sakor district police dismissed the claim, saying it was “false” information.
Responding to Fact Crescendo Cambodia, Botum Sakor Police Inspector said the villager killing is not related to any land dispute, and that the news piece was not true.
He added the arrest of the excavator driver was underway after he fled from the scene following the incident happened.
A video published by a Facebook page CTV8 shows the villager family saying her father killing was not related to any land dispute.
The family said the news piece was fake and misleading the public after it was circulated on social media.
There are some land dispute cases in communities in Botum Sakor district between villagers and some private companies.
Rights monitor for LICADHO in Koh Kong province Pen Vuthea also said Sakhorn’s killing was not related to any land dispute. He added the villager rent the excavator to clear his own land.
CONCLUSION
Fact Crescendo Cambodia found out the claim mentioned above is false. Relevant sources had clarified Sat Sakhorn’s killing was not related to any land dispute and that the viral news was fake.
Title:A Man Run Over by an Excavator Unrelated to Any Land Dispute
Fact Check By: Jay UdomResult: False
