Two Phnom Penh deputy governors were elevated to Hun Sen assistants, the vice president of the Supreme Court got a work extension, and a controversial mining firm was given a new business permit, according to the first book of the Royal Gazette for 2023.

The new book still contains a large number of documents from 2022 but also includes a few from this year. Keut Chhe and Mean Chanyada, both deputy governors for Phnom Penh, were made assistants to Prime Minister Hun Sen in a document signed on November 26, 2022.

Chanyada has been seen leading state security personnel in their crackdowns against workers from a NagaWorld union and has frequent run-ins with journalists, activists and land disputants in the past.

Supreme Court vice president Kong Srim was given an extension of his existing position, according to a document signed by the king on November 25, 2022. Srim was one of the nine judges on a Supreme Court bench that ruled to dissolve the Cambodia National Rescue Party on November 17, 2017.

Late Cheng Mining Development was given a permit to open a gold processing factory in Sandan district, Kampong Thom province on October 19, 2022. Late Cheng has faced controversy for allegedly forcing people off their land in Sandan to accommodate its mining operations.

In a flurry of promotions and recognitions, 405 officials were promoted at the ministries of agriculture, fine arts, rural development, land management, foreign affairs and interior, with 281 judges and prosecutors getting promotions as well.

Search an index of the documents on Kamnotra’s Gazetteer.