PHNOM PENH: Police have detained Sam Meychou, the daughter of an Oknha, in connection with a fatal traffic collision in Phnom Penh which she allegedly fled after crossing the centreline and hitting a motorcyclist.
The 27-year-old is accused of driving the car which struck and killed Kuoch Limhan, a 35-year-old official with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport’s Construction and Public Works Laboratory, on the night of July 28.
Limhan was reportedly carrying a carton of milk for his baby daughter. Video shared to social media showed two young women exiting the vehicle and leaving the scene in a tuk tuk, as the body of the young father lay in the rain-soaked street.
She was taken into custody this afternoon, July 30. Her parents and other family members also appeared before police.
Conflicting reports emerged over the circumstances of her detention.
Some sources claimed Meychou voluntarily surrendered to authorities, while others alleged she was arrested while attempting to leave Cambodia.
Local media outlet DAP News initially reported that she was detained at Techo International Airport while allegedly preparing to board a flight to Singapore.
However, Phnom Penh Municipal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Choun Narin later shared photographs showing Meychou and her family meeting with police after she had been brought into custody.
In a social media post, Choun Narin said her father, Oknha Tong Hok Seng, cooperated with investigators in locating his daughter and escorting her to the Phnom Penh Municipal Police’s Traffic Department.
“At my request, the father of the driver responsible for the traffic accident cooperated with specialist police in locating his daughter and handing her over to the Traffic Police Department of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police,” he wrote.
According to police, the fatal collision occurred at around 11.30pm on July 28 along Street 1003 in Khmuonh commune, Sen Sok district.
Investigators said an AVATR 11, bearing Cambodian licence plate V.C.8989, crossed into the opposite lane while attempting to overtake another vehicle before colliding head-on with Limhan’s Honda Scoopy motorcycle, which was travelling in the opposite direction.
Following the crash, police officers impounded both vehicles. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
