About 50 workers from a garment subcontractor in the capital’s Dangkor district protested at the Ministry of Labour yesterday, calling for the factory’s owner to pay their wages after he reportedly disappeared with a massive amount of cash.

"The boss ran away with $100,000 last month and the workers were unable to sell the property because another factory filed a complaint [against the factory]," said Chea Sophea, president of the Cambodian Rights Workers of Union Federation.

"We came here to ask the ministry to help us sell the factory’s property . . . about 510 workers did not get their wages for that month."

Sophea said the factory supplied clothes and to other garment factories, which then exported them abroad.

The Labour Ministry could not be reached yesterday.