The Court of Appeal yesterday upheld the decision to sentence former Defense Ministry official Thong Sarath and his parents to between two and two-and-a-half years in prison on charges of illegal weapons possession.
Neither Major General Sarath—who also stands accused of orchestrating the murder of powerful businessman Ung Meng Chue last year—nor his parents were present in the court.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court found the general and his parents —who control vast business holdings including the Borey 999 development company—guilty of illegal weapons possession in June.
Appeal Court Judge Tithsothy Borareak upheld the decision yesterday, explaining that the court had rejected the argument that the majority of the 11 guns found during raids on the family’s villas did not belong to the homeowners.
“Keo Sary confessed to [owning] one Beretta, but she denied [owning] three AK-47s and some bullets,” he said.
“But that was an excuse of the defendant and the court does not believe it.”
