No court complaint will be lodged against CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap over his role in a hit-and-run car crash that left one woman dead and her husband in a serious condition in hospital, relatives of the injured man said Tuesday.
Moeun Sina, the sister of Moeun Tha, 26, who remains in a serious condition at Calmette Hospital after the crash on Friday that killed his wife Pin Sophea, said that the parliamentarian’s lawyer had paid the family more than $1,000 in compensation and, therefore, no complaint will be lodged with the court.
“We will not press charges,” Ms. Sina said, adding that Mr. Yeap’s money is being used to pay her brother’s medical bills.
“He [the lawyer] said that another $400 is [to be paid] to the doctor,” she said, adding that Mr. Yeap ought to buy her brother a new motorcycle to replace the one destroyed in the crash.
On Friday morning, Mr. Tha and his wife, both 26, were traveling on a motorcycle when they smashed head on with Mr. Yeap’s SUV along National Road 1 in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district.
The couple was reportedly trying to overtake another vehicle when they crossed into the oncoming traffic lane and collided with Mr. Yeap’s vehicle, which according to witnesses, did not stop after the crash.
Mr. Yeap’s vehicle, which was being driven by an unnamed chauffeur, continued to drive away from the scene of the crash despite having the couple’s motorcycle trapped underneath.
Though the traffic law states that those involved in an accident must remain at the scene and report to the nearest authorities, Mr. Yeap has maintained he did nothing wrong by driving away from accident.
Pin Sophea and Mr. Tha were left lying on the side of the road for 30 minutes before they were taken to a local clinic. Pin Sopheap died shortly after being taken to Calmette Hospital on Friday afternoon, while Mr. Tha sustained a ruptured kidney and is in serious condition.
“I would want him [Mr. Yeap] to buy my brother a new motorcycle since he has lost both the bike and his wife,” Ms. Sina said.
“His bike was completely destroyed in the accident,” she said.
Mr. Savuth, Mr. Yeap’s lawyer said Tuesday that his client had “solved the problem” with the family of the dead woman and her badly injured husband.
