Convicted killer back on stand

More than six years after the slaying of Free Trade Union president Hy Vuthy, one of the men convicted of his murder, Chan Sophorn, 35, appeared in court yesterday for a retrial.

Sous Sam Ath, the judge presiding over the case at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said Sophorn was charged with “intentional murder in aggravated circumstances”, a charge on which he was convicted in absentia in March 2012 and sentenced to 18 years in prison. …

According to Sam Ath, witnesses saw Sophorn carrying a K-59 pistol and stalking Vuthy on a motorbike in the days before the union leader’s murder.

But Sophorn yesterday denied he murdered the union leader and said he had been staying with his wife in Kampong Speu province at the time. …

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/convicted-killer-back-stand