A pair of armed robbers convicted of fatally shooting a university student who tried to protect his sister and fiancee from being attacked were sentenced on Friday to life in prison.
Oum Suosdey, 33, and Chan Dararith, 27, were also each fined 5 million riel, or about $1,250, by Phnom Penh Municipal Court Presiding Judge Chuon Soreasey.
Student Chan Sokchea, 24, was shot four times on January 21 in the city’s Chamkar Mon district after ramming his car into a man who was beating and robbing his sister, Chan Sreypor, and his fiancee, Neth Sothearoath, at the front door of his house in Tumnop Toek commune.
Police said the two men had arrived on motorbikes and were trying to snatch the women’s belongings.
The defendants’ lawyer, Mon Vimean Champa, said her clients will appeal the verdict’s excessive sentence.
“It’s a robbery without intention, so between 15 to 30 years, it’s fair,” she said.
