Four children drowned in two separate incidents in Siem Reap and Mondulkiri provinces this week, according to local authorities, who blamed parental negligence.

Noem Sarat, district deputy chief in Siem Reap’s Puok district, said yesterday that Ki Sophan, 9, and her cousin, Thoeurn Sophany, 5, drowned in a pond about 50 metres behind their house while they were swimming on Wednesday afternoon.

“The children drowned after a heavy rain which made the pond full and deeper than usual,” Sarat said. “Because the parents were busy farming, they had not paid attention to the safety [of their children].”

In a similar case in Mondulkiri, two cousins drowned in a wastewater reservoir when they were left alone at home by their parents who went to work at a cashew plantation.

Krang Tes Commune Police Chief Yoem Ban said that Vichet Thida, 7, and Rith Nana, 8, were the daughters of ethnic Phnong farmers.

“This event happened because their parents made the drainage reservoir, but they did not make the cover for the reservoir for protection purposes,” Ban said.