PHNOM PENH, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodian court on Tuesday charged Battambang provincial deputy governor Sou Arafat and local tycoon Sang Than with committing corruption in regards to a land dispute, a court's spokesman said.

The kingdom's Anti-Corruption Unit arrested Arafat on July 1, four days after apprehending Than for allegedly paying bribes to occupy 5,000 hectares of land, which is equal to a quarter of the total land in Kors Kralor district in northwestern Battambang province.

"Deputy prosecutor Soeun Moniroth decided to charge Sang Than with masterminding intentional destruction and dishonest embezzlement and paying bribes, while Sou Arafat was charged with intentional destruction and dishonest embezzlement and accepting bribes," Phnom Penh Municipal Court's spokesman Kuch Kimlong told reporters.

Arafat, who is also the head of the provincial committee for land dispute resolution in Kors Kralor, was accused of forging fake documents related to the size of the land, which resulted in Than possessing 5,000 hectares and caused land conflicts with dozens of residents.

On June 27, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen also issued a sub-decree which terminated Mao Sokchan from his post as Kors Kralor district governor. Sokchan was not arrested or taken in. Enditem

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