The parents of a 19-year-old garment factory translator who died suddenly Monday morning have filed a complaint with the police against her employer and three doctors at the health center that treated her, seeking up to $18,000 in damages, officials said Tuesday.
Som Kiri, a Chinese translator for Sportex Industry Co Ltd in the Russei Keo district of Phnom Penh, fell ill about five minutes after arriving at work at 7 am Monday.
She said she felt dizzy and began to vomit, according to a Sportex representative who asked not to be identified.
The complaint has been filed with Kilometer Pram Mauy commune police in the district.
Factory workers noticed that the factory’s doctor and several security guards took Som Kiri to the nearby Samdech Euv health center, the Sportex representative said. She died at the hospital at about 11:30 am.
Som Kiri’s father, who works for the Ministry of Defense, has said that both doctors at the medical center and garment factory workers were negligent in treating her, said Min Thornn, Pram Mauy commune police chief.
The father is seeking $12,000 in compensation from the factory and $6,000 from the health center, Min Thornn said.
Doctors have not determined a cause of death, and family members have refused to allow a court doctor to conduct an autopsy, Min Thornn added.
Som Kiri had worked at the factory since last March but had been working as a Chinese-Khmer translator only during the last two months. She was from the Ponhea Leu district of Kandal province.
The Sportex representative said the factory has already given Som Kiri’s family her salary and about $220, $60 of which was a donation from her co-workers.
(Additional reporting by Karen Hawkins)
