Ex-Khmer Rouge gets life for backpacker murders

0 Comments | Asian Political News, Sept 9, 2002

PHNOM PENH, Sep. 6 Kyodo

A Cambodian court on Friday sentenced former Khmer Rouge colonel Chhuk Rin to life imprisonment in absentia for his involvement in the 1994 murders of three Western backpackers.

Presiding Judge Sam Rith Sophal said the Appeals Court rejected Chhuk Rin's July 2000 acquittal by a local court.

David Wilson of Australia, Jean-Michel Braquet of France and Mark Slater of Britain were traveling by rail from Phnom Penh to the coast in July 1994 when their train was ambushed by a Khmer Rouge gang in southwestern Kampot Province, about 150 kilometers south of the Cambodian capital.

The three young men were captured along with 10 Cambodians and held for ransom for three months before being murdered.

During his trial at the lower court, Chhuk Rin admitted that he commanded the attack on the train but insisted he did not take part in the killings.

Jean-Claude Braquet, father of the murdered Frenchman, praised the court's decision.

Australian Ambassador to Cambodia Louise Hand told reporters she was glad the perpetrator had been brought to justice.

She added that she believed another suspect would also be convicted, referring to former Khmer Rouge commander Sam Bith, who has also been implicated in the murders.

Sam Bith, a regional commander in Kampot under the Khmer Rouge regime who later defected to the government, was arrested in Battambang Province, northwestern Cambodia, in May, and is expected to be brought to trial soon.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld a 1999 lower court ruling that sentenced former Khmer Rouge commander Nuon Paet to life imprisonment for his role in the murders.