A security guard supervisor accused of viciously beating three garment workers after his staff had already allegedly assaulted them – leaving the men hospitalised with serious injuries – will face court today.

Chin Sitha, deputy chief of Meanchey district police, said yesterday the supervisor from the SL Garment Processing (Cambodia) Ltd factory in Phnom Penh’s Stung Meanchy commune, whom he referred to only as Heng, was arrested as bands of workers retaliated on Saturday.

“The suspect was being pelted with stones by garment workers, and we spent nearly three hours to take him from the garment factory,” Sitha said.

Free Trade Union representatives at the factory instigated the retaliation, he said.

Victim Sum Samnang, 19, said Heng sought him and two others out after they fled a group of security guards that had begun beating them after shouting a series of threats, and took them into a room.

“When I went inside the room, the suspect quickly turned off the light and beat and kicked my chest and stomach,” he said.

“I tried to run away, though his wife tried to catch me,” he said, naming the other two victims only as Hor and Ten.

Samnang said the factory owners immediately sent the victims to the hospital for scans before moving them to the private Lim Kang clinic, where the factory was paying their medical expenses and salaries.

He has demanded 10 million riel ($250) in compensation from the supervisor and two million from each of the guards in a complaint filed to commune police.

SL Garment Processing lawyer Yin Wengka agreed that the perpetrators should be forced to pay compensation.

“But this incident happened inside the factory, so the factory is responsible for treatment,” he said.

None of the accused could be reached for comment yesterday.

Sok Danoyparakhan, a Free Trade Union factory representative, said workers protested yesterday to demand the supervisor and his staff be sacked within five days of the assault but that management said it was impossible to replace them so quickly.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Sarom at [email protected]