PHNOM PENH: One of the three victims of the traffic accident on the old Chroy Changvar bridge that occurred on the night of 5 December 2022 and caused the death of an infant, was reportedly beaten up by an unknown individual on Sunday, 8 January.

The Chroy Changvar bridge accident involved three victims: a mother, her baby, and a man who had offered to drive the two to the hospital and back to their home late at night on 5 December. The man has now reported that he was beaten up by someone he does not know, according to the President of Mek Cher Orphanage, Phorn Phalla.

"[The victims] have to go to court tomorrow, but one of them (the man) was beaten up, reopening old wounds, by a stranger yesterday, [the man] came to tell me earlier," wrote Phorn Phalla in a Facebook post on Monday, 9 January.

The road accident on the old Chroy Changva Bridge occurred on 5 December 2022. A drunk driver hit three people — a woman, her baby, and a man — on a motorbike with his car. The mother’s baby, a two-month old infant, tragically died in the hospital on 11 December 2022, from the injuries sustained during the accident.

The drunk driver was first arrested on the night of 5 December and fined two million riel under Article 10 of the Road Traffic Law. The driver and the victims had initially agreed on a US $2500 settlement, however, following public backlash and a review of the case, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court issued an arrest warrant for the driver. The perpetrator, however, failed to show up in court as summoned, and local authorities soon reported that the driver was on the run.

According to the Phnom Penh Municipal Police, the perpetrator, 19-year-old Som Noritikhea, lives in Chroy Changva district and drives a white LEXUS NX200t with a license plate from Phnom Penh.

According to Article 85 of the Road Traffic Law, anyone who drives recklessly and causes death will be sentenced to one to three years in prison and will be fined between four to 15 million riel.

If a person is driving under the influence has an alcohol level above 0.04 mg per liter of air, or above 0.08 mg per liter of blood, causes deaths, and then flees the scene, they will be sentenced to two to five years in prison and will be fined between 10–25 million riel.