A mother of 10 who begs in a Koh Kong provincial market for money to care for her kids had already received money from the government after giving birth to triplets, an ad­­vis­­er to Hun Sen said yester­day.

Yos Ngol, 39, from Bavet town, was featured in local media over the weekend begging with her baby triplets. It was reported she had not received a much-trumpeted triplets “gift” from the prime minister, which adviser Seng Tieng denied.

“When they were born, the local authority in­­formed us . . . we have com­ple­­­t­­­ed our obligations,” he said, adding that 234 families with triplets had each re­­ceived 3 million riel (US$740) and 20 kilo­­grams of rice from Hun Sen since 1999. Ngol said yes­terday her family could not afford to return home.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sen David at [email protected]