The British man who allegedly ordered the murder of another U.K. national in Thailand last month has been jailed for separate offenses in Phnom Penh, and is now awaiting trial for breach of trust and living in Cambodia illegally, officials said.
Toby Nelhams, 45, is being held in Prey Sar prison after the Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged him on Friday, deputy court prosecutor Seang Sok said on Sunday.
Mr. Nelhams, the suspected mastermind behind the shooting of fellow Briton Tony Kenway in the Thai resort town of Pattaya last month, was arrested on February 12 in Phnom Penh’s Pur Senchey district, an immigration police officer said last week.
He was charged under the immigration law for entering the country illegally and fraudulently altering resident or work cards—crimes that carry maximum prison sentences of six months and 15 years, respectively—Mr. Sok said. Breach of trust is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 6 million riel, or about $1,500.
Uk Heisela, chief of investigations at the Interior Ministry’s immigration department, confirmed Mr. Nelhams’ imprisonment, but said he had no information about his alleged connection to the murder.
“The court charged him for not having a passport,” Mr. Heisela said, adding that he had not received a request from Thai authorities to extradite Mr. Nelhams, who had been living in Cambodia for eight years.
Mr. Heisela added that Mr. Nelhams was not cooperating with authorities.
“He did not speak with us. So we cannot learn anything,” he said.
On Thursday, a U.K. Foreign Office spokesman said in an email that the office was “in contact with the local authorities following the arrest of a British man in Cambodia.”
Royal Thai Police and the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh could not be reached on Sunday.
Abel Caldeira Bonito, a South African who previously worked in Phnom Penh and is suspected of shooting Tony Kenway, and Briton Miles Dicken Turner, the alleged getaway driver, remain at large.
Sihanoukville police put out a public plea for help in finding the men earlier this month, although border police have only confirmed that Mr. Turner crossed into Cambodia.
(Additional reporting by Chhorn Phearun)
