The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday sentenced a man and two accomplices to 10 and five years in prison, respectively, for their roles in the drugging and raping of a 14-year-old girl last year.
The man suspected of carrying out the rape, Lim Kimsay, 33, is still at large, but was sentenced to 10 years in absentia, Judge Kim Rathnarin announced Monday. The accomplices, Tey Yan, 21, and moto-taxi driver Long Thea, 44, were both handed five-year sentences. All three were ordered to pay a total of $5,000 to the victim.
The crime occurred in September, when Ms. Yan, the victim’s neighbor, invited her to visit Mr. Kimsay’s home in Chamkar Mon district’s Tumnop Toek commune. Together, they fed her a cup of drugged bubble tea and brought her to a guesthouse on Mr. Thea’s motorbike. Mr. Kimsay then rented a room and raped the girl while Ms. Yan waited in the bathroom.
Ms. Yan and Mr. Thea were arrested shortly after the rape, while Mr. Kimsay went on the run. During their trial earlier this month, both accomplices proclaimed their innocence and said they had not known that Mr. Kimsay intended to rape the teenager.
The victim’s lawyer, Reach Chantheng, said she would discuss the verdict with the victim’s mother, who during the trial earlier this month asked for $15,000 in compensation for her daughter.
“I will explain the verdict to my client and if she is satisfied, she can accept it. If she is not satisfied, she can appeal,” Ms. Chantheng said.
Tumnop Toek commune police chief Phorn Aun said police were still looking for Mr. Kimsay.
“We can’t forgive this offender, because he forcibly raped a minor,” he said. “We will keep trying to find him and if we find clues about his whereabouts, no matter where he is, I will spend my own money to go and arrest him.”
