Chinese female director Lai Yuqing went to Cambodia to film a movie and tragically fell from a building in Phnom Penh. She was pronounced dead on January 2 at the age of only 23.
According to the “Cambodia-China Times” report on January 5, the incident occurred at 12:30 am on December 30, 2015. Lai Yuqing fell from a building in Phnom Penh and despite being rushed to the hospital for two days, she could not be saved. The death certificate issued by the hospital indicated that the victim died from severe head and body injuries caused by the fall.
Police confirmed that at the time of the incident, two friends of the deceased, including Indian man Jatla Siddartha and Chinese woman Li Fang, were on the same floor where the incident occurred. After the incident, the two individuals were taken to the police station to assist in the investigation.
The report mentioned that the ground floor of the building is occupied by the landlord, while the first and second floors are rented out. The first floor was rented to the aforementioned Indian man and Chinese woman, while the second floor was rented by a French man.
Surveillance footage showed that around 11:22 pm on the night of December 29, the French man returned home and opened the courtyard door, with Lai standing outside. She was then led inside the house. In the early hours of the 30th, the surveillance recorded sounds of people talking upstairs, and then Lai fell from a height. The Indian man and the Chinese woman immediately went downstairs to check and help the injured person. Police found fingerprints on the railing at the scene, which were used as evidence for further investigation.
After the incident, the deceased’s father rushed from China to Cambodia for the aftermath. He informed the police that his daughter came to Cambodia in 2024 to work on short film productions with some friends, but he was not aware of the details of her work and life in Cambodia. He only knew that she had attended the 30th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea on September 19, 2025, to receive an award.
Lai’s father revealed that on the morning of December 30, he received a call from his nephew in China informing him of his daughter’s fall and injuries. He immediately flew to Cambodia to take care of his daughter. Doctors informed him that his daughter’s injuries were severe, including brain swelling and bleeding, lung contusions with blood clots, multiple fractures in the collarbone and spine, and she had been in a coma since being admitted to the hospital. She was pronounced dead on the afternoon of January 2, 2026.
According to the official website of the “Mulan International Film Festival,” Lai Yuqing is from Fujian and was born in Tianjin. She studied in New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto, and was involved in the production of several short films and feature films as a director, actor, and musician. Her works have been shortlisted for the Toronto International Film Festival, BFI Flare, and the Sundance Ignite program.