"SIEM REAP, Cambodia — Chhoeung Chheng, a journalist covering environmental issues for local online news outlet Kampuchea Aphiwat News, has died of his injuries after being shot in Siem Reap province on Dec. 4 by a suspected illegal logger.

Chheng was rushed to a commune health clinic with a gunshot wound to the abdomen before being transferred to Siem Reap Provincial Hospital where, in the early hours of Dec. 7, he died of his wounds.

The attack took place at around 6 p.m. near Trapeang Phluoh village, Pongro Leu commune, Chi Kraeng district, Siem Reap province, close to Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary, where Chheng and a colleague, Moeun Ny, had been traveling at the time.

“We’d traveled from toward Trapeang Raing, which is a conservation area under ​​the Ministry of Environment, to take photos of illegal [forest] activities for producing news,” Ny told Mongabay."

Gerald Flynn and Phoung Vantha reports for Mongabay December 11, 2024. [2]