A 66-year-old American man jumped to his death from the bar on the 20th floor of the Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel in Chroy Changva district Monday morning, according to police.
Yoeun Chantha, deputy police chief in Chroy Changva commune, said Charles Frederick Harris, who had been staying at the hotel since October 3, committed suicide at about 10 a.m.
“A witness who is a staff member saw him walking alone on the 20th floor, but he did not see the victim jump,” Mr. Chantha said.
“Security cameras showed that he walked alone,” he added.
None of the security cameras at the open-air Tonle Sap Bar on the 20th floor point cover the area in the corner of the bar from which the man jumped. The top of the building is ringed by two waist-high barriers with a narrow flower bed between them.
Mr. Chantha said he did not know where Charles Harris’ body was taken, but that the U.S. Embassy was handling the case.
District police chief Thong Vutha said embassy officials told him that the deceased had left a suicide note.
“When the police and U.S. Embassy checked his room, they saw a note he had written,” he said, adding that officials told him the American had left a note apologizing for any “interruption” that his suicide might cause for people at the hotel.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Jay Raman confirmed that the embassy was dealing with the incident.
“We are working to notify the next of kin,” he said.
“In the case of a death overseas, we work with the local authorities to confirm that the deceased is an American citizen, and we work to identify next of kin, and then work with the next of kin to determine how they want to proceed with respect to dealing with the effects and also the remains,” he added.
According to a statement posted to the National Police website, Charles Harris’ death was the fourth at the hotel since construction began in 2009.
Managers at the Sokha hotel could not be reached for comment.
