A construction worker died yesterday morning at Preah Kossamak Hospital after falling from the third floor of an apartment construction site in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district the day before.

The victim, who was identified as Preap Saret, 52, was from Kampot’s Kampong Trach district, said Kakab commune chief Sol El. Kakab police chief San Pet said officials questioned Torng Thou, 47, who is the construction manager for the flat.

According to Thou, who maintained he wasn’t present during the incident, a loader being used to lift sand up to the third floor – where the victim was controlling the machine’s motor – struck a wooden bar, causing it to break, and in turn causing the man to fall.

“After the interrogation, we allowed him to return home,” Pet said.

Sarin Vanna, director of the Phnom Penh Municipal Land Management Department, said as of yesterday he hadn’t received information on the incident, but that he would send an inspection group to work with local authorities to assess the site.

Worker injuries are not uncommon in the construction industry, which the government earlier this year acknowledged it has not done enough to regulate.

Three months ago, two other construction workers also fell from the third floor of a site, sustaining serious injuries, and last month, the Ministry of Land Management demanded that authorities begin conducting more thorough site inspections.