Emaciated woman found alive in Phnom Penh empty lot

Phnom Penh, 17 May 2025 – Local authorities are investigating after a severely malnourished woman was discovered clinging to life in an overgrown plot of land on the capital’s northern fringe.

Shortly after 11:00 a.m., residents alerted police to an unconscious woman lying on a vacant parcel near the junction of Keng Road and Win Win Boulevard in Sangkat Bak Kheng, Chroy Changvar district. Officers and first-aid responders arrived within minutes and confirmed that, although gravely weakened, she was still breathing.

Witnesses later told investigators they had noticed the same woman around 5:30 a.m. while driving to work but assumed she was sleeping or resting and did not intervene. No one approached her until mid-morning, when a passer-by realised she was unresponsive and raised the alarm.

The victim—described only as an adult female in her late thirties or early forties—showed signs of extreme starvation and dehydration. Emergency personnel transported her to Calmette Hospital, where doctors stabilised her condition. Medical staff said she faces a long recovery and remains unable to speak for extended periods.

Chroy Changvar district police chief Kim Phann told reporters officers found no identification documents or personal belongings at the scene, and initial searches of nearby CCTV cameras have yet to clarify how she arrived there. Investigators have appealed to the public for information, stressing that determining the woman’s identity and circumstances is essential to ruling out foul play.

Local charity workers have offered assistance once the patient is discharged, while district officials have pledged to step up patrols of vacant lots and construction sites where vulnerable people sometimes seek refuge.

The case has sparked renewed calls from social-welfare groups for stronger support systems for Phnom Penh’s homeless and mentally ill, many of whom remain invisible until emergencies arise.