The Court of Appeal on Tuesday upheld a life sentence handed down to a 24-year-old farmer for raping and murdering his former fiancee in Kandal province before attempting to commit suicide, his lawyer said.
Lam Sokuntheara said the Kandal Provincial Court had found Thoeun Ny guilty of murder accompanied by torture, cruelty and rape for the killing of Han Srey Neang, 18, in February last year, and that Presiding Judge Chan Madina at the Appeal Court on Tuesday upheld the decision. She declined to comment further.
The victim’s naked body was discovered on a mango plantation in Ponhea Leu district on February 15 last year.
Police went to Mr. Ny’s home the next day to arrest him, only to find that he had ingested rat poison in an attempt to kill himself.
Deputy district police chief Seng Srang said Tuesday that upon regaining consciousness at Phnom Penh’s Calmette Hospital, Mr. Ny told investigators that he murdered Han Srey Neang after her parents broke off their engagement.
“He said that if he lost his ex-fiancee, no one could marry her,” he said, adding that he was happy with the Appeal Court’s ruling.
“This is justice for the victim’s family.”
