Five passengers of the boat that sank off the coast of Sihanoukville last week are suspected of being involved in people-smuggling, while three more Cambodians are also being questioned over the case.
The boat was carrying 41 Chinese nationals at the time, leading to the questioning of two Cambodians who were on a boat nearby.
Huot Vichet, spokesman for the Preah Sihanouk provincial prosecution, said four further suspects were now being questioned for facilitating illegal border crossings, three Cambodian and one Chinese.
He named all six suspects as Nhim Sakhorn, 46, seafood vendor; Khea Phea, 29, boat driver; Soeun Mao, 32, boat worker; Nuon Nin, 40, boat driver; Yoeun Yin, 42, boat worker; and Pan Xing Wei, 55, Chinese fish seller.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said five of the rescued passengers were also found to be involved in people smuggling, naming them as Guo Jian Ping, 33; Lin Shuang, 25; Wang Li Chu, 42; Zhu Shi Ming, 37; and Liu Shai Jun, 33.
It has not been made clear where or for what purpose the Chinese nationals were being trafficked. Of the 41 people on board the boat, 18 were initially rescued and a further 12 found alive. Three bodies were found, leaving eight missing.
Preah Sihanouk provincial spokesman Kheang Phearum said on Friday that further dead bodies had reportedly been found near the shores of Vietnam’s Phu Quoc, and Cambodian officials were waiting for official confirmation.
— Mech Dara
Three Bodies Found in Kampot Dam Accident
A car found to have plunged off Kampot’s Toek Chhou dam sparked a two-day search for missing motorists, with the dam’s reservoir drained to aid in the discovery of the bodies of one Cambodian and two Chinese men.
Touk Chhou district governor Im Chansothon said the car had fallen at night on Wednesday from a road alongside the dam, and was found badly damaged around 500 meters away.
However, the bodies could not immediately be found in the water, he said.
The dam operator had shut off the dam, aiding in the search, and three bodies were found Friday morning, he said.
“Today around 8 a.m. the bodies were found in a different location,” Chansothon said.
The body of the Cambodian man had been returned to his family, while authorities were awaiting instructions from the Chinese Embassy on what to do with the bodies of the two Chinese men, he said.
— Keat Soriththeavy
