Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary of State Suth Dina left the scene of a traffic accident in Battambang province’s Thma Koul district on Saturday but has agreed to pay financial compensate to the 18-year-old student he crashed into, district police chief Yim Vichet said Monday.
Mr Dina was driving a Lexus SUV when he crashed into a motorbike, driven by Pich Leang Hout, which was traveling in the opposite direction, Mr Vichet said.
After the crash, Mr Dina did not stop at the scene and continued driving with a flat tire for 2 km until he was stopped by district police, the police chief said, adding that the motorcycle driver, Mr Leang Hout, sustained a fracture to his collarbone and is currently staying at Battambang’s provincial hospital.
Thma Koul deputy district police chief Hang Sophea said Mr Dina claimed he fled the scene following the accident because he was afraid that the victim’s family would attack him in revenge for the accident.
“He didn’t stop after the crash and continued driving for 2 km,” Mr Sophea said, adding that police had followed in pursuit of Mr Dina after he fled the scene.
The hit-and-run case has not been sent to court because the two sides have come to an agreement, he said.
“This is a small case. We have already compromised at district police [level],” Mr Sophea said.
He added that Mr Dina promised to pay for the cost of all medical bills and repairs to the victim’s motorbike.
Reached by telephone Monday, Mr Dina denied that the incident was a hit-and-run accident. He said that he continued to drive after the crash because he didn’t realize he had hit the victim.
“I will pay the compensation; it was unintentional. It wasn’t a hit-and-run accident,” he said.
Battambang provincial traffic police chief Sath Kimsan said that district police didn’t report the case to the provincial level because the case was too small.
