PHNOM PENH, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian Ministry of Health has slapped a ban on private ambulances retrieving accident victims in a bid to promote the public ambulance service, national media reported Thursday.

    Private ambulances, although speedy, deliver inferior care compared with government ambulances, Heng Taykry, secretary of state for the Ministry of Health, was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying.

    "We have now banned private ambulances from collecting patients from accident scenes, as they do not have proper equipment," he said.

    "We have noticed that at present, private ambulances arrive at the scene much faster but they do not have the skills to save lives," he added.

    According to the ministry, the Phnom Penh Municipality was cooperating with the Department of Health to enforce the new ban in Phnom Penh starting Wednesday.

    "We have asked police to cooperate with us by arresting private ambulance services when they see them arrive at the scene of a traffic accident because it is now illegal," Heng Taykry added.

    Heng Taykry said that better technology makes public ambulances as capable of treating patients.

    "Before it was hard for us to get information about traffic accidents from police, but now we have the technology to access to all locations in Phnom Penh," he said.