Phnom Penh – Cambodia’s Interior Minister, Sar Kheng, on Tuesday, rejected criticism of a traffic offence crackdown that has netted Police $3 million in fines.
Kheng, speaking at a road safety event, said authorities had tightened road rules and raised penalties to protect lives.
He rejected criticism that the tougher laws, introduced in May, had overburdened citizens already struggling amid the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The minister also dismissed the suggestion that the state was using the fines to raise revenue.
“People making such suggestions were not thinking clearly,’’ he said.
Between May and June, traffic police recorded over 83,000 cases, 73 per cent involving motorbikes and the rest involving cars.
“Fines in these cases amounted to about $3 million.’’
Long known for lax road rules and endemic corruption, Cambodia saw road fatalities increase 12.5 per cent in 2019 to 1,981 people.
(dpa/NAN)
