Phnom Penh - One Cambodian child was dead and 12 members of two more families were in hospital after they lunched on dried puffer fish, or blow fish, police said Friday. Deputy chief of Takeo province, Soun Thon, said 13-year-old Khieu Channrith died shortly after eating dried puffer fish from neighbouring Vietnam. Takeo lies about 80 kilometres south of the capital.
Channrith's grandfather, both parents and three visiting relatives were in a serious but stable condition in hospital, Thon said, adding that another entire family of six had also been hospitalized the same day, apparently after eating fish from the same shipment.
Despite the fish containing potentially deadly toxins, dried puffer fish is a common snack in Cambodia. Unlike in Japan, where the fish is an expensive delicacy, in Cambodia the meat is usually eaten by poorer families.
