Fourteen holiday revelers from Phnom Penh traveling to the casino attraction Safari World near Koh Kong town were injured in seven separate incidents when their cars slipped off a dangerous dirt road that curves through the province.
The tourists were traveling to the attraction, which is becoming famous for its boxing monkeys and animal shows, when they lost control of their vehicles and careened into the nearby jungle.
The drivers were traveling too fast and were unfamiliar with the newly built Route 48, which runs from Sre Ambel to Koh Kong, said Sin Sen, deputy police chief for Koh Kong. No one was seriously injured, police said.
There were fewer traffic accidents this Khmer New Year compared with previous years, police said Thursday. In Phnom Penh, the only traffic jam was related to motorists leaving the city for the provinces, police said.
And in every province, police reported fewer traffic fatalities, said Mao Chandara, chief of staff for the Interior Ministry. There were no traffic fatalities, he said.
The number of robberies also dropped, compared with previous years, police said. Mao Chandara said police were out in force to thwart wrongdoers.
Although crime and accidents were down this New Year’s, the holiday was not without its troubles. Gang activity was to blame for some violence in the provinces, police said.
In the Sampou Loun district of Battambang province, one person was killed and five injured after a grenade was tossed onto a crowded dance floor on Monday.
“It was a revenge case. We already know the offender, but couldn’t arrest him because he has fled to Thailand,” said Chea Thaun, Battambang deputy police chief.
In another dance floor bombing on Monday, in Sihanoukville one person died and two were seriously injured, said Sihanoukville Police Chief Daung Sareoun.
It was yet another case of revenge, he said. This time the offenders used dynamite to explode a dance floor. Police have charged the suspected offender, who has already appeared in court. The name of the accused was unavailable Thursday.
