A man who was attacked by crocodiles is receiving emergency treatment at Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh on April 19 after being bitten by five of the nearly 50 crocodiles in his care.
The victim was walking on a bridge and he slipped and fell into the crocodile pool around 1am on April 17 in Kampong Tayong village of Siem Reap province’s Puok district and commune.
District police chief Ear Sam Ek identified the victim as 37-year-old Sou Sothea, a resident of the village and an official at Puok district hall who moonlighted as a crocodile farmer.
“Last night he was injured and his family took him to the hospital in Phnom Penh immediately. I heard his family was still at the Intensive Care Unit at Calmette Hospital,” he said.
He said the victim normally went to check on the crocodile eggs and at around 1am on April 17, he went to the crocodile pool alone to check on them and then slipped and fell in.
One of the victim’s neighbours heard his cries for help and got the victim’s relatives to help pull him off the pool.
He confirmed that, after the incident, district police chief Tep Pumsen led police officers to the scene and discovered that the victim was seriously injured by crocodile bites, including bites to his head.
The family immediately called an ambulance from district referral hospital to transport the victim to Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh.
Commune chief San Pey said on April 19 that most people in his commune raise crocodiles to hatch their eggs because baby crocodiles sell for $15 to $20, which provides a good income to support their families.
“For the past two or three years during the Covid-19 period, there has been no market for crocodiles. But normally a baby crocodile sells for $15 to $20 and the buyers are often Vietnamese,” he said.
