Fears Increase Over Olympic Stadium Development Safety

Cambodia Daily | 23 February 2016

Several segments of a sheet-metal fence surrounding a construction site near Olympic Stadi­um fell onto a motorist and her pas­senger on Monday morning, re­sulting in minor damage to their vehicle.

Mok Boranchhorsak, chief of po­lice in Prampi Makara district’s Veal Vong commune, said a section of the 2-meter-tall fence fell on the women at about 10:30 a.m. as they drove past the Olympia City de­vel­opment, which is being built by the Overseas Cambodia In­vest­ment Corporation (OCIC).

“The light of the motorbike was broken and the owner was com­pensated…and there were no in­juries,” he said. “The problem has been resolved already.”

Mr. Boranchhorsak said those in­volved in the development were not responsible for the accident.

“As the company told me, the fence fell down by itself due to wind from passing motorbikes,” he said.

Although an excavator was seen meters from the fallen sections of fence on Monday—the Fresh News website reported that the machine knocked over the barrier—the po­lice chief said it had not been in use at the time of the collapse.

Touch Samnang, a project manager for OCIC, refused to answer ques­tions about the incident.

The incident comes 15 months af­ter a 42-year-old woman was killed when an iron bar fell from the 12th floor of the site, striking her in the head as she rode past on a mo­tor­bike. The woman, Buth Vanny, had been riding with her son and his fiancee on their way to pick up items for the couple’s wedding.

Phoeun Chiva, 18, who sells stuffed animals across the street from the fence, said the collapse had only intensified his feeling of un­ease about the Olympia City proj­ect, citing Buth Vanny’s death and plac­ing blame for both incidents at the feet of OCIC.

“I think it was the fault of the construction site because they didn’t set up the fences firmly,” he said.

“I, along with other people in­cluding my uncle, feel more afraid now because this is like before, when the iron bar fell and killed the woman.”