Phnom Penh - A Cambodian who set out to catch fish with car batteries and electrodes got a taste of his own medicine when he stepped on an electric rat-trap and died. The Kampuchea Thmey (New Cambodia) newspaper said on Thursday that fisherman Roeun Bo, 36, died instantly when he stumbled into a mesh of bare wires hooked up to a large truck battery.
He had been on his way to fish illegally in the middle of the night in a stream near his home in Takeo, around 60km south of the capital Phnom Penh, the newspaper said.
Rat-traps using electricity or glue are common around rice fields in the impoverished southeast Asian nation. Once caught, the rats are sold for around $1 each for food.
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"This business now appears to be dangerous. Not only does it kill wildlife - it also kills human beings," one police official said.
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