A woman who beat her 6-year-old stepson to death in December was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday, according to the presiding judge in the case.
Seng Srey Tin, 27, was arrested after beating her stepson, Sarey Virak Bot, multiple times over a week while he was staying at the home she shared with the boy’s father in Dangkao district’s Choeung Ek commune.
Following the arrest, she confessed to police that she had used a piece of wood to beat the boy on his body and the stomach on December 13. He suffered internal injuries and died a few days later as a result of organ failure.
However, at the trial last week she claimed that her husband was responsible for the attacks and that she had only confessed to protect him.
Horn Sarey, the boy’s father, who married Ms. Srey Tin after his first wife died, was also arrested last year, but was released after police determined that he was not present during the beatings.
Chea Sok Heang, the presiding judge in the case, said that Ms. Srey Tin was sent to Prey Sar prison Friday following the sentencing.
“The court sentenced the offender for 12 years for the death of the victim according to the criminal code’s Article 224,” Mr. Sok Heang said.
That section of the criminal code relates to intentional violence with aggravating circumstances caused by the death of a victim.
The judge added that Ms. Srey Tin was also ordered to pay $10,000 in compensation to the boy’s family.
