4 ex-Khmer Rouge rebels jailed over Briton's death

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

Tuesday, 14 October 2008 03:23:07

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Four former Khmer Rouge rebels were sentenced up to 20 years in prison Tuesday for their involvement in the murder of a British mine-clearing expert 12 years ago.

The convictions and sentences came after an investigation of more than a decade into the killing of Christopher Howes, who worked for Mines Advisory Group, a Britain-based humanitarian mine-clearing organization.

A fifth accused man was acquitted by Judge Iv Kim Sri, but no reason was given.

All five, who had pleaded not guilty, went on trial last week in Phnom Penh on charges of premeditated murder and illegal confinement.

Howes and his Cambodian interpreter, Houn Hourth, were abducted in March 1996 by Khmer Rouge rebels, along with other Cambodian co-workers, while clearing mines near Angkor Wat, the famous 12th century temple complex in the country's northwest.

Three of the five defendants testified that two other Khmer Rouge guerrillas _ now believed dead _ were responsible for the murder of Howes and the interpreter.

The court heard that little was known about the killing of the interpreter, who got separated from Howes and was shot dead by a Khmer Rouge guerrilla in another remote village.

One of the defendants, Khem Ngun, admitted that he was responsible for transporting Howes to the execution site, but denied he had prior knowledge of a plan to kill him.

Khem Ngun, Loch Mao and Put Lim were present when Howes was executed in the middle of the night in Anlong Veng, the court was told. They were each sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Sin Dorn was convicted of being involved in the early stages of the abductions and was sentenced to 10 years.

There is no death penalty in Cambodia.

The Khmer Rouge imposed a reign of terror during the mid-1970s, until they were ousted by a Vietnamese invasion in 1979. But they waged a guerrilla war in the countryside for another two decades before the movement collapsed.