Court Upholds Sentence in Rape of Minor
The Appeals Court ruled Thursday to uphold the decision of a Kampong Cham provincial court sentencing two minors to eight years in pris
The AppealsCourt ruled Thursday to uphold the decision of aKampong Cham provincial court sentencing two minors to eight years in prisonfor the rape of a 7-year-old girl. The court also upheld a decision that 8 million riel incompensation be paid to the victim by the defendants, Kheng Seang Hay and ChhimPisey. The case, which highlights a continued problem of minorssexually assaulting minors, has centered around the age of the boys, not theirguilt, because Cambodian law stipulates minors under 14 cannot be imprisoned. If the two were under 14 years old at the time of the crime,they should not be sentenced to jail, said Touch Chiva, a program manager forLegal Aid of Cambodia, which is defending the boys. Both courts maintain Kheng Seang Hay was 14 at the time ofthe crime, in September 2006, but his father, Eng Kheng, says he was 11, aclaim corroborated by several documents. "We have a certificate from the school, police and abirth certificate indicating that [Keng Seang Hay] was 11," Touch Chivasaid. The courts also maintain that Chhim Pisey was 15 at the timeof the crime; no one has disputed his age. Kampong Cham provincial court found the two boys guilty inOctober 2007, for a rape that occurred in September 2006. The two have been inKampong Cham prison since the verdict and were not present at Thursday's appealhearing. Kin Rourn, 50, mother of the victim, told reporters in abrief statement Thursday the two defendants persuaded her daughter to enter arubber plantation near her home in Or Raing Ov district, where the crime tookplace. Kek Galabru, president of the rights group Licadho, said Cambodia hasseen a number of cases of teenagers below the age of 14 sexually assaultingyoung girls. Pornography, drug use and a culture of impunity allcontribute to sexual assaults in the countryside, Kek Galabru said.