‘Take it or leave it’

The uncle of a man who died in Thursday’s ceiling collapse at the Wing Star Shoes factory in Kampong Speu province claimed yesterday that the company had threatened to give the family nothing if they did not agree to an on-the-spot payout. It came as a government official said the two families who lost loved ones in the collapse were not eligible for state compensation beyond funeral costs. Rim Rorn, 29, uncle of Rim Roeun, 22, who died in the Kong Pisei district factory, a supplier to Asics, said talks between his family and factory representatives had broken down. ... Roeun and co-worker Kim Dany, who was initially identified by police and family members as Sim Srey Touch, were crushed to death when an overloaded storage level collapsed, sending concrete, steel and stock crashing onto the walkway beneath. ... Korn Vet, 44, the father of Kim Dany, said company representatives had already paid his family $6,500 for a funeral. ... Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodia Defenders Project, said it was unlikely, though, that anyone would be charged. “If we are talking about . . . it being a criminal [case] of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, someone must [be proven] to have intended to commit a crime,” he said. “They do not have any law relating to neglect or illegal construction . . . I think there is only compensation.” ...

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052065719/National/take-it-or-leave-it.html