A journalist in Kratie province has been sued by an individual who is demanding 10 million riel in compensation, accusing the journalist of violating his privacy after publishing a report on allegedly illegal mining activities in a local community.
On 22 January 2026, the journalist was summoned by local police following a complaint filed by the plaintiff. According to the journalist, the complaint claimed that a report published on 4 January 2026 violated the plaintiff’s privacy by publicly exposing the image of a private individual.
However, the journalist said the man appeared in the footage only because he was present at the mining site at the time and was accidentally captured while documenting the alleged mining activities.
Background led to the Complaint:
The journalist told CamboJA on 23 January 2026 that on 4 December 2025, he went to investigate alleged illegal mining activities in Kbal Domrei commune, O Krieng Senchey district, Kratie province. During the visit, he observed six to seven medium- and small-scale mining sites reportedly operated by local residents and private individuals.
About an hour later, a man—later identified as the plaintiff—arrived at the mining site while the journalist was taking photos and videos of the mining activities. An infographic report with voice-over narration about the mining activities was subsequently published on 4 January 2026 , and no reaction was recorded until 12 January.
The journalist further explained that on 12 January 2026, he and his director returned to the area to follow up on whether the mining activities had stopped after the initial report. They found that the activities were still ongoing and subsequently broadcast a live video on the same issue.
The journalist said that later that day, he received a call from a police officer from Srae Chis commune, asking him to appear at the commune police post. He was informed that a complaint had been filed against him for publishing images of an individual in a report published on 4 January.
On 22 January 2026, the journalist appeared at the commune police post in response to the summons. There, he met the plaintiff, who demanded 10 million riel in compensation and threatened to escalate the case to higher authorities.
Fearing further legal action, the journalist eventually agreed to remove the report and issue a public apology to the plaintiff in order to resolve the dispute.