Man Dies After Setting Fire to Home, Jumping from Rooftop in Phnom Penh

On September 17, 2026, at approximately 9:40 AM, an incident occurred in the area below the Morodok Techo Flyover in Phnom Penh's Chamkar Mon district, where an elderly man, reportedly suffering from mental instability, set his own house on fire before jumping from the rooftop. The fall resulted in severe head injuries and a broken neck, leading to his immediate death at the scene. According to sources at the scene, prior to the incident, the victim used a gas stove to set his upstairs residence ablaze. The fire quickly escalated, engulfing the house in flames and thick smoke. Unable to withstand the smoke and heat, the man reportedly risked jumping from the upper floor to the ground below. The fall from such a height caused him to sustain fatal injuries. Upon receiving news of the fire, local authorities from the Chamkar Mon district's Unified Command, in cooperation with the firefighting unit of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police, immediately intervened. Several fire trucks were dispatched to the location to extinguish the blaze and prevent it from spreading to neighboring residences. Following the control of the fire, specialists from the forensic and scientific techniques office of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police conducted an examination of the body and documented the scene according to procedures. After the examination, the body was handed over to the family for traditional funeral rites. All rights reserved by CEN