18 and over

A Ying Dong Shoes representative yesterday denied claims his factory employs workers as young as 13 and shares an owner with Wing Star Shoes, where two died in a ceiling collapse on May 16.

Chan Kosal, a representative of Ying Dong, a supplier to Asics, said the factory employed only workers 18 or over.

“They must have a citizen ID and a family book, as well as a clarification letter from commune authorities,” he said.

The Post reported this week that workers at the factory in Phnom Penh had claimed it employed girls as young as 13. Workers must be at least 15 and those under 18 given modified tasks. Kosal, a representative of Ying Dong, Wing Star in Kampong Speu and New Star in Preah Sihanouk, said the factories were not owned by the same person.

One owner had “shares big and small” in the three factories, he said. “So we can’t say they have the same owner.”

The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia has said the factories share an owner.