Several Phnom Penh communes say they have recorded a rise in non-Covid-19 deaths this year, while a clinic and hospital say their patient numbers are down significantly as people choose self-treatment amid pandemic fears.
As tens of thousands of Covid-19 cases mount across the country, lives inside Cambodia’s pagodas have become marked by caution and practical concerns — more cooking and fewer ceremonies — while creating a void of Buddhist teachings for the nation, monks said.
Cambodia has seen a high case rate for the last two weeks, averaging more than 900 cases daily, with a similar spike in Covid-19 deaths. With the rising number of deaths, select pagodas across the city are working overtime to ensure the dead are given formal ceremonials.
A pagoda’s sale of unused marshland in Kandal’s Akrei Khsat commune for $400,000 will be investigated as a potentially illegal sale of state land, the provincial governor and Religion Ministry said.
A controversial chief monk is accused of racking up $220,000 in debt for constructions while destroying ancient property at a famous Kratie pagoda, and his reappointment on Monday caused leading monks in the province to issue a letter threatening to resign.
About 20 monks and nuns gathered in protest in front of their Phnom Penh pagoda on Wednesday to stop earthworks on a plot they claim belongs to them, pointing to orders from the Council of Ministers and a deputy prime minister.
A pipe installed under a Phnom Penh pagoda burst on Tuesday while moving dredged sand from barges on the Tonle Bassac river to landfill on Choeng Ek lake, with a pagoda representative saying City Hall had pushed for the pipe to pass through their grounds despite their reluctance.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has promoted 25 people to be his official assistants, including a bodyguard who has received land on Phnom Penh’s Boeng Tamok lake and another who was nearly scammed online by a 14-year-old.
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