The owners of a Chinese-run Cambodian casino that was closed for polluting a beach in coastal Sihanoukville have applied to build a new casino in another location. The Jin Ding Casino on Koh Rong Samloem Island was ordered to close in May because it was operating without a license, promoting illegal online betting games and releasing untreated sewage directly into the sea, reported Radio Free Asia (RFA).
Cambodian environmentalists say the casino should be demolished, and are frustrated that it remains intact. Preah Sihanouk Province spokesman Kheang Phearum said last week that Jin Ding’s owners have applied for permission to build another casino at a new location, and that the owners will demolish the old buildings when the new facility is built.
“They are not refusing to remove the old structures,” he said. “They just want more time to construct a new building,” he said, adding that authorities regularly monitor the former structures to ensure that business operations there have not resumed. We are now waiting to see how they proceed with the authorized work.”
Pen Bonnar, of the local community watchdog group Adhoc, said the fact the casino still stands points to possible corruption in connection with the case. Authorities must now demolish the casino’s structures in order to enforce the law, he said, adding, “As we have seen, actions that were taken in the past were not effective because the law was not enforced.”
In mid-October, a group of 15 Cambodian monks and environmental activists launched a march from the capital Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville to ask that the casino be taken down.
A report by the Agence France Presse news agency in January on how Sihanoukville had become a “sizeable gambling playground” for Chinese tourists said at least 50 Chinese-owned casinos were operating in the province.
