This morning, the Appeal Court upheld a 10-year imprisonment sentence against Cambodian national Hou Ngoy, convicted in 2009 as an accomplice of American national R.B. in the purchase of child prostitution.
Ngoy and his Cambodian associate Chun One were arrested in 2009 after they were suspected of facilitating underage girls to have sex with the American – who was brought back from Cambodia to face charges in the US court as part of the US initiative ‘Operation Twisted Travellers’.
In the hearing, Hou Ngoy admitted his wrongdoing and requested for his imprisonment sentence to be mitigated, claiming he has already served half of his sentence and presented good behavior in prison. However, the court decided to confirm Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s decision and uphold his imprisonment term.
Samleang Seila, APLE Country Director, said, “Such a server punishment is most wanted to deter sexual crimes against children and reduce the incidents. We must take an aggressive approach to end child prostitution before it’s getting worse.”
Additional report by: Phnom Penh Post
