WASHINGTON DC —
Thai authorities have released 58 Cambodians accused of illegal logging, after fining them about $120 each, officials said.
The suspects were accused of logging in Thailand’s Nakhon Rachasima National Park, and were cheated by “ringleaders,” Chum Sounry, a spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said.
They were promised legal jobs and pay worth about $30 per day, he said. Thirty-four more loggers remain in jail, with the ministry continuing to work on their release.
“The Foreign Ministry has been working diligently with Thailand to avoid killings of Cambodians who enter to cut timber in Thailand,” Chum Sounry said.
