Cambodia could ban water guns after tourist injury

By Hoang Vu   April 22, 2023 | 06:22 am PT
Cambodia could ban water guns after tourist injury
Children spray water guns during Khmer New Year celebrations at Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, April 14, 2022. Photo by Reuters
Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen called to ban water guns after a foreign tourist suffered an eye injury during last week’s Khmer New Year festivities.

"I saw on social media that one foreigner was injured by water guns during the Khmer New Year. Don’t play this game," he said.

"Water guns were not even used here until a few years back," he said on Friday as quoted by the Khmer Times newspaper.

Cambodians celebrated this year’s Khmer New Year April 13 to 16, and the festivities across the country saw over six million people, including foreigners, taking part by dousing each other with water as per regional tradition.

Ahead of the New Year, the PM urged all citizens to avoid splashing water on each other’s faces, which has become very popular during the Khmer New Year over the last decade. The festivities resemble the famous water play of the Thai New Year.

Cambodia received 13 million tourists during the three-day traditional festival, including over 55,000 foreigners, the Phnom Penh Post reported.

 
 
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