"Tbeng Meanchey district is comprised of various villages, most of them inhabited by the Kuoy ethnic minority, who are engaged in small-scale farming and the collection of Non-Timber Forest Products…However, in 2011…two Chinese firms, Lan Feng and Roy Feng International [both subsidiaries of Chinese company Hengfu Sugar], were granted ELCs on villagers’ land…

Conflict exacerbated as the companies started to demarcate villagers’ land and community forests for the development of sugarcane plantations, clearing the area and cutting down valuable Resin trees. No measures were reported to be taken regarding an environmental or social impact assessment…All kind of resistance and mobilizations started, supported by local NGOs and Buddhist monks...In several occasions, villagers as well as NGO members and monks were temporarily held by the police and the company filed a lawsuit against the villagers for destroying their sugarcane. The villagers in turn, filed a lawsuit against the companies, demanding a compensation of 600,000$ for the destruction of their ancestral lands, community forests and farming lands…"

[Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Hengfu Sugar to respond to the allegations, the company did not respond]