Tuktuk Suicide on Street 130, Phnom Penh

CEOCambodiaNews · Post by **CEOCambodiaNews** » Sat Oct 03, 2020 4:59 pm

Cambodia News (Phnom Penh): On October 03, 2020, at 02:15 am, a man was found dead, hanging in his PassApp tuk-Tuk in front of the house no.24,26EO, Street 130, Sangkat Psar Kandal, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh. The victim hasn't been identified yet.

A tuk-tuk driver named Prum Chanpiseth, said that before the incident, on October 3, 2020, at around 2:15 am, he took a customer from Naga world, and then he stopped his tuk-tuk on the street 130, in Sangkat Psar Kandal. After that, he went to a house no 12,25Eo to urinate.
He saw the victim, so he talked to him, but got no reply. When he went to look more closely, he found that the victim had hanged himself in the tuk-tuk. Then, he asked his friend nearby to report the case to the police. The drivers said that the victim was always drunk, and he used to say that he was stressed.

The police concluded that the victim committed suicide by hanging. The body was taken to keep at Reussey Sanh pagoda. The police are still searching for the victim's identity. RIP.

Doc67 · Post by **Doc67** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 11:31 am

Last night (Sat 3rd) I spoke to one of the Tuks I know**, at the corner of 130/5. He speaks reasonable English and I gleaned the following information.

The man was in his early 60's and his family were estranged from him. Apparently they were not prepared to look after him in later life and money was a problem already. The Tuk knew him well and was clearly upset by his death. He said that the Monks would be there at 8am Sunday to begin a funeral ritual (not sure what) and he asked me to come along. I declined but gave him $10 to buy some beers and/or make a donation which was received with some surprise and a good deal of emotion. First time I've ever seen a Khmer get all misty eyed. (Sometimes booze makes you do good things).

** This tuk found my Kindle in the back of his tuk last Monday night. After a day of re-tracing my movements (bar to bar)to no avail I was yelled at by said Tuk on Tuesday who proceeded to get it from under the rear seat. He got $20 for that. He's had a good week with me.

mkilburn2002 · Post by **mkilburn2002** » Sun Oct 04, 2020 11:59 am

the drivers name was Bong Lee. I knew him for over 10 years.
He was a boy soldier in the war/wars good guy.
Drank but who doesn't?

Bagheria · Post by **Bagheria** » Mon Oct 05, 2020 8:50 am

Mr. Lee will be missed. He was a great guy.

Cb60 · Post by **Cb60** » Fri Nov 06, 2020 5:22 pm

Mr Lee I met in 2017 and immediately took a liking to
Him - he was charming but even back then he was dark about all those close to him that had died so when he lost his wife he told me he was over it. All last year he was drunk every time I went to say hi and friends had given up on him but his body just kept jumping back to life no matter how much he drank and didn’t eat. I am relieved the suffering is over but I am sad because he had so much going for him- he was smart - he was kind - sense of humour - very sensitive. He has a son who is a credit to him and I hope he will live a happy life in honour of his dad.

Stiliko · Post by **Stiliko** » Fri Nov 06, 2020 6:55 pm

So, Bong Lee was the driver or the deceased?

Any more specific info on the latter?

John Bingham · Post by **John Bingham** » Fri Nov 06, 2020 8:15 pm

The driver is the guy that died.

xandreu · Post by **xandreu** » Fri Nov 06, 2020 8:28 pm

None of us really know what's going on behind the eyes of others. In recent years in the UK (as I believe many Western countries) there has been a drive to raise more awareness for men's mental health, but sadly it remains a topic of conversation few are prepared to talk about openly.

A Khmer colleague of mine who suffers with mental health problems (although you wouldn't know it, I only know because I'm quite close to him) often talks about the fact that despite it being a much bigger issue in Cambodia than many people realise, there is still little to no support for men who are suffering. The added social pressures of what's expected of Khmer males doesn't help.

RIP to the poor guy and condolences to the family. Hopefully one day there will be more humane alternatives.

John Bingham · Post by **John Bingham** » Fri Nov 06, 2020 9:22 pm

I agree but don't see it as a particularly male issue. The last couple of decades have seen unprecedented development and growth in living standards and salaries here. It was very barren here before that. It's still not that long ago that disputes were routinely dealt with by throwing a hand grenade into your neighbor's house or just blasting them with a rifle. It's more difficult to get these items now so people just resort to plain sticks and choppers. Underlying attitudes and coping-mechanisms learned over generations don't just disappear overnight.
It might just be the isolation and lack of foreign news or updates on idiotic tourist behavior, but it seems to me we are hearing a lot more about horrific domestic violence in the provinces now. I would hazard a guess that it's at least partly to do with economic pressures on families due to the pandemic's effects. I don't think it's going to get better before it gets a lot worse. Take care out there folks.

Tuktuk Suicide on Street 130, Phnom Penh

Tuktuk Suicide on Street 130, Phnom Penh

Re: Tuktuk Suicide on Street 130, Phnom Penh

Re: Tuktuk Suicide on Street 130, Phnom Penh

Re: Tuktuk Suicide on Street 130, Phnom Penh

Re: Tuktuk Suicide on Street 130, Phnom Penh

Re: Tuktuk Suicide on Street 130, Phnom Penh

Re: Tuktuk Suicide on Street 130, Phnom Penh

Re: Tuktuk Suicide on Street 130, Phnom Penh

Re: Tuktuk Suicide on Street 130, Phnom Penh

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