The body of former Khmer Rouge Brother Number Two Nuon Chea, who died on Sunday evening, will be kept for seven days at Pailin province’s Prom Kiri Morakat pagoda before being cremated in Sala Krao district in line with Buddhist tradition.
More than 100 people, including Chea's relatives, attended the commencement of funeral rites on Monday.
Lao Chealinda, Chea's third daughter, told The Post while preparing for the funeral on Monday that the plan was to keep his body in an ice-cooled coffin until it is cremated according to Buddhist traditions.
Chealinda said when Nuon Chea became seriously ill in early July and was sent to Phnom Penh's Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital, she went to look after him until he died.
“As the end came, he was exhausted, his throat was producing mucus and his entire system was weak – especially his kidney and liver as he also had diabetes,” she said.
