PHNOM PENH: Siv Cheyseth, who handed himself into authorities and admitted his part in a Battambang traffic accident that killed five people, including a pregnant woman, and left a seven-year-old girl fighting for her life, has been charged with two offences by the Battambang Provincial Court.
According to a court statement, the victims, on two motorcycles, were returning from a concert on the night of March 27 at around 10.40pm when a speeding 2020 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT53 with the license plate C.S.6168 rear-ended them.
Five of the victims, all from Kakoah village and commune in Moung Ruessei district, were killed instantly, while one was seriously injured.
Immediately after the accident, the driver fled the scene, leaving his vehicle behind.
According to the court statement, Cheyseth has been charged with reckless, negligent and careless driving causing the death of others (involving multiple fatalities), as well as careless, reckless and negligent driving causing injury to others and fleeing the scene.
The case caused widespread anger as the driver is a son of a high-ranking police official and took five days to hand himself into the police and confess.
Concerns were raised on social media about the perceived impunity of members of the kingdom’s elite, as well as how a 20-year-old was able to afford such an expensive vehicle. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
