Publisher of Khmer Cheayden Sued After Reporting on Police Chief

On June 9, 2025, Ung Thap Reang, publisher of the online news outlet Khmer Cheayden, was summoned for questioning by Banteay Meanchey provincial police following a complaint filed by the Poipet police. He was later transferred to the provincial court for further questiong.
The complaint against Thap Reang was filed by Poipet police chief Prum Piseth and another journalist, Sou Vanna.
According to a regional coordinator from the local rights group LICADHO, Thap Reang was initially questioned by provincial police in the morning before being sent to court later that day.
After his initial court appearance on June 9, Thap Reang was sent back to the police station, where he spent one night in detention. On June 10, he was returned to court for further questioning.
He was released and allowed to return home on the afternoon of June 10, after the court found no grounds for prosecution. Thap Reang told CamboJA that the complaint stemmed from an article he had published about Poipet police chief Prum Piseth and journalist Sou Vanna.
The article, published on May 22, 2025, reported on a man who was seriously assaulted and later filed a complaint with the Ministry of Interior, accusing the Poipet police chief of misrepresenting details of the case. Thap Reang said this article was the basis for the lawsuit against him.
This is not Thap Reang’s first legal encounter. In 2023, he was arrested and jailed for 10 months on incitement charges after reporting on alleged corruption within the Poipet health department. He was released on bail on February 12, 2024.