PHNOM PENH: The Tuol Kork Police Inspectorate arrested four suspects on negligence charges for a fire that killed eight people at a karaoke bar and hotel on July 1.

The Judicial Police Force of the Tuol Kork Police Inspectorate arrested four male suspects employed as interior decorators. According to the confession of a 29-year-old Cambodian renovator, the group consisted of eight people with three renovators working on the ground floor and five working on the ceiling of the fifth floor.

The fire that engulfed the 6969 Kiss Entertainment karaoke bar and hotel on the fifth floor, had been determined to be an electrical fire. The blaze killed seven foreigners and one Cambodian.

The suspect said that while removing part of the fiberglass ceiling, smoke began to emit from the ceiling along with flames. He then noticed an exposed wire make contact with part of the metal framing of the ceiling, causing sparks. The crew tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, but were unsuccessful. The fire started around 5pm and the Phnom Penh Fire Department managed to extinguish it completely by 8:30pm, over three hours later. Rescue operations were complicated by the lingering toxic smoke.

The four suspects are currently being held in custody at the Tuol Kork Police Station for questioning and to build a case to be sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for further proceedings.