Phnom Penh – A Cambodian court on Friday convicted two Japanese men with premeditated murder for the killing of a Cambodian taxi driver earlier this year, a court spokesman said.
The Siem Reap provincial court sentenced Ishida Reimon and Naka Kukiryuji, both 24, on Thursday for the murder of driver Him Chan, 40, who was killed in March, said court spokesman Yin Srang.
Ishida and Naka were sentenced to 10 and 13 years in prison, respectively, Srang said.
Premeditated murder carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment in Cambodia.
The court also ordered the men to pay the victim’s wife about 24,500 dollars as compensation, the spokesman said.
In March, Ishida and Naka hired Chan to drive them in Puok district, about 30 kilometres from the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province.
The duo cut Chan’s throat with a knife, fled in his taxi and then crashed into a truck before being arrested, the Khmer Times reported, quoting local authorities.
The men had earlier travelled to Siem Reap from Poipet, a casino town on the Cambodian-Thai border, a district deputy police chief told the Times.
Another police officer told the Phnom Penh Post that the men told authorities that they were attempting to get money because they owed Japanese bank about 36,000 to 45,000 dollars.
The men are detained in the Siem Reap provincial prison, Srang said.