PHNOM PENH: At least four people were crushed and suffocated to death on Thursday in Cambodia after a large crowd gathered at a local tycoon’s home to receive Lunar New Year red envelopes filled with money, police said.

Pictures and footage shared by local media show hundreds of people pushing towards the vast gates of a mansion belonging to Sok Kong — a close ally of former Cambodian leader Hun Sen — in downtown Phnom Penh.

“This morning tycoon Sok Kong gave out gifts and a lot of people came to his home, hoping to receive one,” Sam Vicheka, a spokesman for Phnom Penh Police, said.

“Some elderly people with health problems fell down as they pushed to get a gift, and so far four people — two men and two women — died,” he said.

Another five people were receiving treatment at hospital, he added. It was not clear how much money was in each red envelope, which are often given out by wealthy families in Cambodia in the run up to Lunar New Year.

Sok Kong, who made his fortune in petrol and built up an entertainment and hospitality empire, is one of Cambodia’s wealthiest people.

Local media reported that the Phnom Penh governor and Sok Kong had promised to give a total of 15 million riel (about $3,700) to the family of each person

who had died, and around $1,000 will be given to each injured person.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2025