School scam

More than 200 students from Elton International School of English, in Kampong Thom’s Stung Sen district, were allegedly cheated out of their money when they showed up for class yesterday to find nothing but a deserted building.

Pat Porn Reay, deputy director of the provincial information department, said the school  had secretly closed on Saturday night. “Materials in the school were transported out and only an empty house remained,” he said.

Pat Porn Reay said that on Friday, the director called a meeting of 20 staff members and paid them 100,000 riel (US$25) each for their salaries.

The school originally charged $150 per student per year, he added, but the price was discounted to $90, then $50.

Lim Kunthea, who rented buses to Elton International, said she had not received last month’s payment from the school.

Police were unaware of the alleged scam because parents had yet to file a complaint, they said. The school’s director could not be reached for comment.

Elton International was embroiled in a similar controversy last month at its Korean-lang-uage school in Kampong Cham province when several students filed a complaint claiming the school had cheated them out of money.