Pay or Stay Here

On September 25th at night, there was an accident near Phnom Penh International Airport and 3 people were injured, a couple and their 16 year-old son. The boy was seriously injured and, when a public ambulance arrived on the scene, he had already been taken by a private ambulance to a clinic, even though it is prohibited by the Cambodian government.
According to his parents, they were asked by the clinic to pay money upfront for their son’s treatment otherwise the clinic would not release him. The clinic was not equipped to treat him properly, and the boy risked losing his life if he were not transferred to a national hospital as quickly as possible.
International experts from Side By Side International went to the clinic in order to support the negotiation process. The clinic staff didn’t expect we would intervene, and they finally agreed to release the boy who was then transferred to the national hospital.Though it’s prohibited, there are still many unscrupulous private ambulance operators who try to profit from traffic accidents. This boy was only one of many who are mistreated in such circumstances. Cambodia’s government is making a lot of efforts to put an end to such practices, but it will take time to change people’s behavior.