An official said Tuesday that 100 inmates from Prey Sar Correctional Centre had been relocated to a prison in Siem Reap, and that 50 others had been sent to Trapeang Thlong prison in Kampong Cham province last week, adding that 100 more were to be moved to a prison in Banteay Meanchey next week.

Heng Hak, director general of the Department of Prisons at the Ministry of Interior, said overcrowding at Prey Sar prison, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, necessitated the prisoner relocation.

"Normally, there are only 1,600 inmates held in one prison, but there were more than 3,000 [at Prey Sar], and we had to send them elsewhere to make sure prison conditions were appropriate," he said.

Heng Hak said the relocation could make it more difficult for relatives to visit inmates, but that deteriorating conditions made the move necessary. "We had to move them because we think prisoner health is a greater priority," Heng Hak said.

Cambodia is holding 12,000 people at 21 prisons and three correctional centres throughout the Kingdom, according to the Ministry of Interior.