Widow to receive compensation for husband's death on work trip

The widow of a general manager, who died in Cambodia while waiting in a hotel room to be taken to a meeting, qualifies for workmen's compensation, the High Court has ruled.

In a judgment released last week, it ruled that Mr Poon Wai Tong's death - from a likely heart attack - was an accident that happened in the course of employment, which made compensation payable under the Work Injury Compensation Act.

The judgment, following his widow's appeal, overruled the Commissioner for Labour's decision that the death on Sept 1, 2008 in Phnom Penh was not work-related and merited no compensation.

The court's move is significant in making clear that those going on entirely work-related trips are protected by the Act, said lawyer N. Sreenivasan, who acted for widow Pang Chew Kim.