A construction worker in Battambang’s Kamrieng district was hacked with a machete by a drug addict incensed the man had been hired to tear down a local drug den.

According to police, three workers, with a police escort, were pulling down a building frequented by addicts on Wednesday; when the cops left, a nearby junkie saw his chance, and attacked one worker with a machete.

The worker tried to block the blow, and was seriously injured in the hand. The worker was hospitalised, while the suspect remains at large. DEUM AMPIL