A man who plowed a truck into a group of 100 protesters outside a garment factory in Phnom Penh’s Pur Senchey district on Thursday was released after his employer promised to pay compensation to four hospitalized women, police said.
Kim Sat, 22, was attempting to drive a truck loaded with sewing machines out of the South Korean-owned S.H. International garment factory when the workers surrounded his truck, said Pur Senchey district deputy police traffic chief De Mao on Friday.
“When he was released last night the owner of the sewing machines took responsibility for the driver’s actions and promised to compensate the four workers,” Mr. Mao added.
Thorng Soeun, the administrative director of Khmer Union Federation of Workers Spirit, said it was no surprise the workers—part of a group of 500 who have been striking since May 29 after the manager abandoned the factory without paying them for that month—tried to stop the driver from leaving.
“It was the factory’s intention to crush and break the protest; our workers have been blocking the front of the factory for two weeks,” he said.
