A Cambodian courtroom has charged two Chinese language nationals with the torture and homicide of a South Korean social media influencer whose physique was discovered on the outskirts of Phnom Penh earlier this month.
Byun Ah-yeong, often known as BJ Ahyeong, was an influencer for standard South Korean streaming service AfreecaTV, and that she had greater than 250,000 Instagram followers, Agence France-Presse reported. Media reviews say she was 33.
Two Chinese language, Lai Wenshao, 30, and Cai Huijuan, 39 have been charged with homicide, courtroom spokesman Plang Sophal instructed native media.
Lai and Cai testified that Byun had gone into seizures and died whereas receiving therapy at their clinic on June 4, and so they had deserted her physique, AFP stated, citing a police report.
If they’re convicted, they might face life in jail.
Lai and Cai’s clinic had been working with out a license, Sok Sambath, the governor of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Keng Kang district, instructed RFA’s Khmer Service.
“We shut the clinic down,” he stated, however declined to reply questions inquiring as to how they might have been allowed to open with out a license, solely saying that they’d began earlier than he took workplace.
Police Chief Sar Thet instructed RFA that based on the police investigation, “the couple injected [something] right into a South Korean woman and she or he died.”
The incident might have occurred due to improperly administered anesthesia, Quach Mengly, a Cambodian doctor, instructed RFA.
The Ministry of Well being hasn’t successfully taken motion in opposition to unlicensed medical clinics and this has triggered a number of affected person deaths as of late, Yong Kim Eng, president of the native PDP-Heart NGO, instructed RFA.
He stated that the incident may scare off foreigners who wish to search medical therapy in Cambodia.
“[Cambodians] are [also] afraid of utilizing native clinics,” stated Yong Kim Eng. “They search therapy exterior of the nation, so we’re giving cash to international international locations.”
Soeung Sengkaruna, spokesman for the Cambodian Human Rights and Improvement Affiliation urged the authorities to conduct an intensive investigation to seek out the actual reason for demise to revive public belief in Cambodia’s medical companies.
“The associated authorities and the ministry of well being want to research this case,” he stated. “We wish to discover out whether or not it was a malpractice or the suppliers’ lack of ability.”
Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
