Multilingual Cambodian boy Thuch Salik shifts from online star to proud pupil in China

A Cambodian boy who shot to internet fame after a tourist posted video showing him speaking a dozen languages has gone from hawking souvenirs on the street to getting a formal education in a Chinese classroom.

Thuch Salik, who has also been referred to in reports as “Thaksin” or “Thuch Salik”, is building on his street smarts at a boarding school in the eastern province of Zhejiang, hoping the studies will help him realise his dream of starting a business back home in Cambodia.