Over 80 Chinese Corpses Remain Unclaimed In City Morgues

Phnom Penh: According to a report from Chinese language media, two temples in Cambodia that are designated to house the bodies of deceased foreigners- Wat Tuek Thla Pagoda and Wat Stung Meanchey are storing the remains of over 80 Chinese nationals.

It is claimed that there are currently at least 60 Chinese corpses held in Wat Tuek Thla and another 20 in Wat Stung Meanchey, some have been there since 2019. It is not known whether family members of all the deceased were informed that their relatives had passed away.

Some of the family members had previously contacted volunteers who were responsible for funerals of Chinese in Cambodia three years ago. However, due to poor conditions at home, they could not pay the related expenses, and eventually they stopped contacting.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, it has been very difficult for the dead to “return to China”. A public welfare person who is currently taking the lead in handling the funeral of these compatriots said that since most of the family members cannot go to Cambodia to directly deal with the funeral, they can only handle it through him. At present, the number of funerals waiting to be processed is in the dozens.