The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday sentenced a Pakistani man to six years in prison on charges of theft and using a fake document following his arrest in Banteay Meanchey province last year for using another person’s credit card to withdraw $49,000 worth of Thai baht.
Khan Azhar Hameed, 48, was arrested in July on suspicion of using a credit card that did not belong to him to withdraw the money from a cash machine at the Sweet Diamond and Gold Shop in Poipet City on four separate occasions, using a fake passport as identification.
During his trial, Mr. Khan said he was instructed to withdraw the large sum of cash by a Chinese friend named Peter.
The Pakistani national, who admitted to struggling with a gambling addiction, said Peter promised to give him 5 percent of the money but later reneged on the deal.
Mr. Khan on Tuesday said he would appeal the municipal court’s decision. “I will appeal at the Appeal Court because they sentence me even though I do nothing [wrong] in Cambodia,” he told a reporter outside the courtroom.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Mr. Khan was sentenced to six months in prison. He was sentenced to six years.
