A drunk Korean driver killed a family of five just outside the capital of Phnom Penh, reports DPA:
Phnom Penh - A Korean driver killed five members of one Cambodian family while speeding under the influence of alcohol, police said Monday.
Police said grandparents Yiet Tann, 44, Chrun Kimsry, 43, and their daughter Yeit Srey Sros, 24, died instantly when the unnamed Korean collided with their motorbike late Saturday, and Sros’ daughters Hun Phalnyta, four, and baby Hun Phalnyta died in hospital.
‘The Korean guy was drunk and driving very fast on the wrong side of the road,’ a traffic police official from Chom Chao district on the outskirts of the capital said by telephone.
I guess the whole “be apologetic, cooperate with authorities” meme doesn’t apply to everyone:
‘We did find out he is Korean but he refuses to provide a name or cooperate with our investigation and he speaks no English,’ the traffic police official said.
If convicted, he could spend life in prison, although the DPA report notes that cases such as this are often resolved with compensation.
The Maeil Gyeongje and NoCut News have it in Korean, but that’s all I see so far.
(HT to Hamel Gord Sellar)
36 Comments
A family of five, on a motorbike, eh? Not that it excuses that drunk, but, hello…?
No English at all? What is he, a North Korean?
Jeffery Hodges
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Hi. The sole purpose of my comment is to boost ego-surfing ranks.
Kyle Day
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exactly who is left to be compensated?
the police, of course.
that’s what the IndoChinese have achieved for gaining “victory” over the United States.
Family of 5 on a motorcycle.
Drunk drivers are all fuckers.
One relative of mine was drunk driving in Seoul, and he hit a 15 year old boy in the late 1970s, and killed the boy. Before my time. I believe the glorious Lt. Okamoto was President of South Korea, sometimes wielding his Samurai sword, singing Japanese songs, caressing young girls, and speaking Japanese to his peers.
Anyway, Did he (my relative) go to jail?
Late 1970s in Seoul is like a 3rd world country.
Hab-wie.
Turns out the teenage boy was the head of a household, feeding some younger ones with his work.
It was Hab-wie ($) or he sits in jail. Amazingly, ROK law lets a man get away with $. Head of household just meant it was a more expensive hab-wie.
The poor folk were paid off, and believe it or not, my relative still has a driver’s license in the ROK !
I was told this story, when I was of age.
Up till then, I had no clue my relative did such a thing.
By the way, Mao Zedong’s birth was one of the most unfortunate events in East Asia to note.
My relative should have gone to jail.
There are many things wrong in this world.
Drunk drivers are scum, compensation and serious jail time is in order.
He killed FIVE people. I say kill HIM. This was NOT an accident.
People dont get drunk accidentally. He got drunk with intent and he intended to drive before he go drunk. This is a premeditated crime. Kill the guy.
Capital punishment.
From the looks of the title, I thought murder and mayhem were involved. Alas, it appears that Robert, too, is resorting to sensationalist journalism! Omigod, the land of the morning calm warps even the best of us!
Oops. Did Robert just change the title or did I not read it thoroughly? I swear it read “Drunk Korean Kills,” not “Drunk Korean Driver Kills”!
Candle-light vigil, anyone?
What a tragedy.
His lack of remorse, shown by his unwillingness to co-operate makes me think he shouldn’t have the opportunity to avoid a lengthy stay in jail, even if he pays compensatory fines and hospital fees, funeral expenses, etc.
#8 Not excusing the driver..but you are a bit harsh aren’t you?
Jail time definitely but he didn’t go on a preemptive rampage with a bag or coat full of guns.
#10: No, you read it right. I changed the title — forgot to add the “driver” part when I posted it.
I could not agree more with wkj on the Hab-Wie settlement money. It takes care of everything in third world country. Although I am not defending this druck Korean driver, you think this made the news because shear number (five people) died or this driver did not Hab-Wie settle to pay up. Do Cambodians have some pent up issues with Korea that are ready to burst?
talk about bad hangovers…
“A family of five, on a motorbike, eh? Not that it excuses that drunk, but, hello…?”
I see three or four people on motorbikes in Korea all the time. What’s the difference? Perhaps they had a sidecar or trailer or something to carry so many. Cambodians are small. And they still beat South Korea on TOEFL scores.
Doesn’t make it right that others do it. It’s crazy and irresponsible, wherever you do it. Same goes for driving while inebriated.
Personally I think driving while using a mobile phone is more dangerous than driving after drinking up to 3 bottles of soju (I’m not sure what it’s like after drinking 4 bottles or more, but you get the point). Also blogging, commenting, or posting on your work bulletin board, after drinking can seriously harm you career/life.
#13. Correct, he went on a rampage in a speeding car. Several tons of steel and glass hurtling down the wrong side of the road. And as you can see, the results are the same as if he had gone on a rampage with a gun: FIVE PEOPLE KILLED by a man who shows zero remorse for what he did. he should be killed if just to make an example of him for future drunks who dont give a crap about the lives of others.
Kill him.
“I see three or four people on motorbikes in Korea all the time. What’s the difference? Perhaps they had a sidecar or trailer or something to carry so many. Cambodians are small. And they still beat South Korea on TOEFL scores.”
hey, who cares if five people died? CAMBODIA BEAT SOUTH KOREA IN TOEFL!
mr. mao. seriously. get a life. unless posting negative shit about korea makes you feel taller.
Marmot, please, try to keep this blog updated about this case. It will be interesting to see what will happen.
There is no “wrong side” of the road in Cambodia. Go take a look, it’s absolute chaos on the streets.
The guy’s company (or him if he’s self-employed) will probably make a $10K payment, with half to the cops, and he’ll walk. If the Khmers want more than that, they’ll threaten a court case for a few days and then accept $20K. I’d be very, very surprised if this goes to any kind of trial. RIP Tann(?) family.
$10k may be a bit light for a family. A Korean buddy of mine is opening a hotel in Phnom Penh, and his Korean employee did the same, killing one. He paid the cops a few thousand to release the employee from jail and put him on a flight to Korea. Another $10k went to the victim’s family.
Provided he pays up the only way the guy stays in jail is if the NGOs get involved, and drunk driving isn’t their priority.
#1,
You are a pompous asshat. Do you realize it takes an average family in Cambodia 12 years to save up for a motorbike?
Ignorant Yutz. Why don’t YOU go to Cambodia and buy some random family that is riding 5 to a scooter a Prius? It won’t be hard to find a family — roughly 80% of scooters you see in Cambodia will have more than 3 or 4 to a scooter.
I hope to make fun of you some day should you become poverty stricken for whatever reason.
While I agree with your sentiment, JK, there is no harm in pointing out that fatalities in SE Asia are as high as they are because of such practices. My wife is Indonesian and while I would never have her, my son and myself on a scooter together, My Brothers-in-law frequently will go 3 or 4-up on the Honda with the kids, much to my chagrin.
Got a source to substantiate that figure? Besides, you idiot, it may take 1, 12, 120 years to save for a motorbike, but it takes only a split second to die. As this family tragically did. So what did the savings brought them…? Death… Good show.
“hey, who cares if five people died?”
Who cares? Certainly not the Korean that killed them.
I’d have to have full knowledge of the circumstances here. As noted by others, Cambodia is absolute pandemonium on the roads, and all SEA countries have astronomical highway death rates. While there is a “correct” side of the road to drive on, it is honored as much in the breach as in practice. Motorbikes are the family car, and everybody is wont to climb on. That was the practice in the French days, and it’s the practice now. Having been in an accident in nearby Vietnam, I can tell you that the “police” there are totally untrained in traffic investigation. Indeed, what pass for “police” are often untrained members of neighborhood watch committees. And the real traffic police are notorious for shaking down those with money, who tend to be truck and bus drivers. So, it would really be intresting to see what the true facts are in this case. Of course, as many also point out, compensation for the victim’s family (likely quite extended) will take precedence over fact finding and guilt assessment.
Why do I get the feeling that any major anti-American protest movements are preceded and ended by incidents in which a Korean or group of Koreans kills a bunch of people, or something equally bad?
Help me out here, this really seems to be a pattern, but I’m having trouble piecing it together.
Ah, so reasonable everyone is.
Cambodia, boycott Korean goods~~ lol
Very sad, but it’s not the driver’s fault. The driver was depressed because Korea has been invaded so many times and now US beef is going to spread BSE around Korea. In fact, the drunk driver is the real victim here.
Give the loser (drunk driver) to what’s left of the Khmers. There are still a few in the jungle hiding out.
Blood money, weregeld, diyya, etc. are common throughout human history and law. Unfortunately, in this case the whole family was killed, so there isn’t anyone left to compensate.
If the driver had stopped and attempted to summon an ambulance or help, I’d say he’s only guilty of vehicular/intoxication manslaughter. But if he tried to run away or deny any responsibility, that’s gross negligence and willful or depraved indifference to human life, which constitutes malice in intent for second degree murder.
i don’t see what being korean has to do with anything?? it shouldn’t matter that he was korean. just saying.