The owner of a tourist boat that sunk in Kampot on Monday, killing four, was yesterday charged with unintentional murder, according to provincial court officials.

The boat, designed to carry 50 to 60 passengers, was packed with 70 to 80 local tourists, police said earlier this week.

Khan Sopha, spokesman for the court, said the boat’s owner, Sok Lim, 44, faces one count of unintentional murder for each of the passengers who drowned when the overloaded boat crashed into a sandbar.

Lim was not operating the boat at the time of the crash but was in charge of the family-run business.

“The prosecutor decided to send the case to the judge and he has charged him with unintentional murder under Article 207,” Sopha said.

Kampot provincial police chief, Mao Chan Makthurith, said police are continuing to search for the man who was operating the boat at the time of the accident. Tour boat operations in the province remain temporarily suspended.