Four suspects were arrested on Sunday following a fire at a KTV and hotel in Phnom Penh which killed eight on Saturday, police reported.
After a fire erupted at 6969 KISS Entertainment in Phsar Depo 1, Tuol Kork district, six Chinese and two Vietnamese nationals died.
The fire reportedly spread from a room in the KTV linked to the four suspects. Their cases will be sent to the Phnom Penh municipal court, said Tuol Kork district police chief Sim Piseth on Tuesday.
The suspects are Khom Sophal, 30, Soy San, 34, Lak Lin, 26, and Khon Tak, 33, who lived in a rental room in Kantok commune, according to the Tuol Kork district police Facebook page.
Khom Sophal said he was among a group of eight workers at the hotel and KTV, according to a police report. Three workers were on the ground floor and five were on the fifth floor repairing the building.
“We were removing the ceiling and then we saw the smoke and flame on the ceiling then we also saw an electric wire pinned to the ceiling was cut and then the fire broke out,” Sophal said according to the report. “We also tried to use a fire extinguisher to control the fire but it did not work and the fire rapidly spread.”
The fire was extinguished by 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Um Bunthoeun, deputy Phnom Penh Municipal Department of Fire Prevention, Extinguishing and Rescue, told CamboJA on Monday that the fire did not spread to other buildings.
“People and buildings nearby were not affected, and our firefighter trucks also took control over the building and did not let the fire spread to other buildings” Bunthoeun added.
Kong Tho, administrative office deputy chief of Phnom Penh Municipal Department of Fire Prevention, Extinguishing and Rescue, said on Tuesday that he does not know the identity of 6969 KISS Entertainment’s owner yet, pending investigation.
“No one came to meet us, we just came here to observe the location and take the corpses out, we do not know who is the owner and we do not know who is the landlord as well,” Tho added.
Tho also said that the cause of fire was related to electric wire cut and it caused flame on the fiberglass that was used as insulation on the ceiling.
“Electric wire was cut and its flame was on the fiberglass…then it caused fire on the ceiling with fiberglass,” Tho explained.
He added some bodies were claimed by families, while the rest are being kept at Stung Meanchey pagoda and Teuk Thla pagoda.
Tuol Kork district governor Chea Pisey declined to comment.
