Ex-Cambodian premier brought to Bangkok hospital

PHNOM PENH: Prince Norodom Ranariddh was transferred early yesterday to a hospital in Bangkok after being injured in a road crash that killed his wife, said a fellow politician and a Cambodian news agency.

Prince Norodom Ranariddh, 74, was in a convoy along with senior members of his Funcinpec party heading toward Sihanoukville in southwest Cambodia on Sunday morning when a taxi travelling in the opposite direction slammed into his SUV, said a senior party member in the group.

Ranariddh’s wife was also standing as a candidate in Cambodia’s general election next month.

His 39-year-old wife, Ouk Phalla, died in a hospital after the crash, and Ranariddh suffered head injuries and was transferred to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, for urgent treatment, Sihanoukville police chief Gen Chuon Narin said.

Ranariddh, who was originally reported severely injured, suffered broken ribs, a politician familiar with his situation said.

The politician, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Ranariddh was flown to Bangkok at 1am yesterday for medical care on request from the country’s Royal Palace. Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni is Ranariddh’s half-brother.

Fresh News, a news agency close to the government, also reported that Ranariddh had been brought to Thailand.

Nhep Bun Chin, a Funcinpec spokesman, said Ranariddh’s condition had improved, but declined to confirm his evacuation to Bangkok.

Health care in Cambodia has a poor reputation, and senior officials, including Prime Minister Hun Sen, as well as the wellto-do, often go abroad for serious medical problems.

Ranariddh was Cambodia’s co-prime minister for four years in an uneasy powersharing arrangement with Hun Sen after his party won a United Nations-organised election in 1993.

His party’s popularity was largely due to its royalist credentials, although Ranariddh’s personal relations with his popular father, late King Norodom Sihanouk, were often strained.

He was ousted in July 1997 and fled abroad when long-simmering tensions between him and Hun Sen exploded into two days of bitter fighting in Phnom Penh between his forces and those loyal to Hun Sen.