Society
The road is barricaded in front of the Bridge high-rise building in Phnom Penh's Chamkarmorn district after a cluster of Covid-19 cases was announced on February 20, 2021. (Pete Ford)

Updated: One Covid-19 Patient at Large, Another Refused Hospitalization

Updated 10:15 a.m. — Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered all schools in Phnom Penh and Kandal province to close down for at least two weeks as the Health Ministry announced 25 more Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, including two who are not in hospital because they either could not be found or refused treatment, and three carrying the more contagious U.K. variant.

Authorities block off Phnom Penh's Koh Pich island after a cluster of new Covid-19 cases were announced on February 20, 2021. (Pete Ford)

Updated: 32 New Covid-19 Cases Linked to 4 Who Left Quarantine

UPDATED 7:35 p.m. — Cambodia reported 32 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday morning, part of a new community cluster linked to a Phnom Penh nightclub and four women, two of whom were found to be positive, and who were allowed by hotel security to leave quarantine.

Goods trucks pass a quarantine center to cross the Thai border into Cambodia at Poipet. (Ananth Baliga/VOD)

Fines for Escaping Covid-19 Quarantine Raised From $250 to $1,250

The government raised fines for people escaping quarantine from 1 million to 5 million riel, and for private health facilities failing to notify authorities about evaders from 10 million to 50 million riel, or about $250 to $1,250 and $2,500 to $12,500, respectively.

Cambodian soldiers celebrate the 65th anniversary of the nation's independence on November 9, 2018. (Chorn Chanren/VOD)

Soldier Dies by Suicide After Car, Bought With Debt, Confiscated

The finance and defense ministries are looking into the case of a Banteay Meanchey province soldier who died by suicide after his car, which he used for work, and which put him thousands of dollars in debt, was confiscated by the customs and excise department.

A handful of protesters gather at a land dispute site in Phnom Penh’s Chbar Ampov district on January 25, 2021. (Mech Dara/VOD)

Villagers Press Authorities Over Land Bordering Police Chief, Senator

Villagers occupying state land on a Mekong river island in Phnom Penh’s Chbar Ampov district are refusing to back down amid confrontations and negotiations with authorities, pointing to nearby mansions and land claimed by a senator and police chief who aren’t getting similarly harassed.