Prey Sar prison officials are carting thousands of liters of water to the prison each day because a construction company smashed a water main and has yet to fix it.
According to prison officials, inmates are rationed 3 liters of clean water each day, which is delivered in tankers that fill up at the broken line about 3 km from the prison, and must get any further water they require from a nearby pond.
They say the water supply to the prison was cut between 10 days and two weeks ago.
“After the water system was cut off, we ordered prison officials to use a truck to carry the water…at least 10 times per day,” said Teng Bunthy, deputy chief of Prey Sar’s Correctional Center 2.
“There is enough clean water for the nearly 5,000 prisoners but we refer them to also use water from the pond while the pipe is being repaired.”
Mr. Bunthy said he had asked City Hall to address the problem, but that the municipality had not yet responded.
Long Dimanche, spokesman for City Hall, said maintenance staff had been sent to the site of the broken main—in front of the Prey Sar commune police office—but could give no timeline for repairs.
“We have sent officials to check on the problem, but we cannot say when it will be fixed,” Mr. Dimanche said.
“We will not leave it for long because we know it is affecting the prisoners.”
Workers along the road to Prey Sar said they were employed by a company called TSR and admitted to breaking the pipe about 10 days ago.
On Tuesday, a prison guard who gave his name only as Kosal arrived at the broken main to fill a tanker with water.
He said that the water rationing was causing problems at the prison but declined to elaborate.
After he departed, Tum Polen, the deputy commune police chief, said: “The guard has told me that the prisoners are fighting with each other because there is not enough water in the prison.”
