More than 60 tonnes of counterfeit products were crushed and buried by Ministry of Interior officials, including an excavator-driving Minister Sar Kheng (pictured), in Phnom Penh on Tuesday morning. Meach Sophana, head of the Counter Counterfeit Committee of Cambodia, said the products – which included shampoo, hairspray, acne cream and perfume – were confiscated from three locations in Phnom Penh and Kandal before being destroyed in a ceremony in Dangkor district.

‘Despite our ability to prevent and suppress the perpetrators and even though the court sentences, people, they still committed these crimes because of the low penalties,’ Sophana said. A report released by the committee said three people arrested in connection with the products were each sentenced to one year in jail.

In 2017, the committee cracked down on 19 cases, seizing around 600 tons of counterfeit products and arresting six people.