Cambodia’s strongman took extremely prompt action after a building under construction in the coastal city of Sihanoukville collapsed and killed 28 workers in the wee hours of June 22.
Upon returning to his country from an ASEAN summit in Thailand, Prime Minister Hun Sen immediately journeyed to the site where the seven-story building collapsed. The dead had been sleeping inside.
Following the tragedy, word began to circulate that slipshod work by a Chinese company was to blame. Hun Sen ordered that two Chinese nationals be detained. He also replaced the governor of Preah Sihanoukville Province and a top disaster management official, citing negligence.
