A three year-old boy in Kampong Speu province’s Phnom Srouch district died after drinking diesel fuel on Sunday night, police said yesterday.

Maha Saing commune police chief Horng Sopheap said Bin Vanreach drank the diesel from his father’s tractor parked near the house but it is unknown how much he drank.

Imitating the actions of his older sister, the boy apparently put a tube into the tank where the diesel was stored and sucked on it.

He was sent to the provincial referral hospital, but it was too late.  

“This should be a warning for other parents ... to avoid this (happening again),” said Horng Sopheap.