Trainee maid dies at labour firm

via CAAI

Sunday, 06 March 2011 20:10 Thet Sambath

A 35-year-old woman died this morning of unknown causes inside the offices of T & P Co Ltd, five days after a woman broke both legs while trying to escape from the same building.

A police officer, who refused to be named, told reporters outside the company’s offices that the victim’s body was found by her niece.

Both the victim, Sing Sina, and her niece were living at T&P, which trains domestic workers for employment in Malaysia at its location in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district.

However, Keo Thea, director of the municipal anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection bureau, said the victim died en route to hospital and was returned to the offices.

“We do not know the reason behind her death and we are investigating,” he said.

Keo Thea said he was told the victim “was fine and cooking on Saturday evening”.

However, the victim reportedly complained to her niece of chest pains on Saturday night, according to the unnamed police officer.

“There are no scars or injuries on her body, but she had a plastic bottle with wine near her,” he added.

After investigations on the deceased’s body, the victim was transported today to her family’s home in Kampong Cham province.

Representatives from T&P refused to speak with reporters today.

The victim’s siblings and mother plan to file a complaint against the company, hoping to hold the firm accountable for Sing Sina’s death and seeking greater financial compensation.

“We will file a complaint against the company because they forced my sister to stay in the building … even though she requested them to come back home,” said Som Son, the victim’s brother.

He claims his sister requested a leave of absence one month ago to visit her family in Kampong Cham, but was refused.

Som Son’s accusation of confinement follows the case of Heng Hak, a 31-year-old woman who sustained injuries on Tuesday night after jumping from the T&P building.

She said she was trying to escape by climbing down a plastic pipe, then jumped and broke both legs.

“My request to visit my children was rejected by the company, so I decided to jump from the building to escape,” she said last Wednesday.

A trainer at T&P, who declined to be identified, told The Post last week the woman had been permitted to visit her children on three previous occasions and that the company had not refused any of her requests.