Ly Phounrath, the youngest son of prominent businessman Ly Yong Phat, was given the title of oknha by the king, according to a royal decree dated July 26, 2022, and published by the Council of Ministers on March 22, 2023.
Ly Phounrath
Ly Yong Phat’s Youngest Son
- Action: Given Oknha Title
- Date: July 26, 2022
- Institution: Royal Palace, King
Ly Yong Phat, nicknamed “the King of Koh Kong,” has been linked to sugar plantations and the violent evictions of residents; controls PNN TV through his LYP Group; and currently serves as a ruling-party senator and adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen. He was born in Cambodia’s southwestern Koh Kong province and is dual Cambodian-Thai citizen.
His other family members have been receiving public land on Phnom Penh’s controversial Boeng Tamok lake as well as in Preah Sihanouk province. His wife, Kim Heang, received 30 hectares on Boeng Tamok in 2020, according to NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, while his daughter and son-in-law — Ly Arporn and Seng Nhak — received 600 hectares of state land and flooded forests in Prey Nob district.
Search an index of Royal Gazette documents in Kamnotra’s Gazetteer.