The activists Long Kunthea, Phoung Keorasmey and Thun Ratha, all members of non-governmental organization Mother Nature Cambodia, were arrested in September 2020 over social media posts they had written stating they had planned to march to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house to raise awareness on environmental issues caused by the filling of the lake in the north of Phnom Penh.

Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, a Spanish national and a co-founder of Mother Nature Cambodia, and Chea Kunthin, a member of activist group Khmer Thavarak, were also charged in absentia.

Boeng Tamok is one of many bodies of water in the metro area currently being filled, mostly by private developers, with little to no transparency or public input.