Court re-hears case of Thai in Daun Penh guesthouse killing

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Sarisi Boon Sry, 37, is led from Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday following a hearing probing allegations that he killed his girlfriend in a guesthouse last year.

via Khmer NZ

Tuesday, 20 July 2010 15:03 Chrann Chamroeun

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court yesterday reheard a case against a Thai man accused of killing his Cambodian girlfriend last year, following a February hearing in which judges ordered further examinations of the victim’s body.

Sarisi Boon Sry, 37, was arrested October 12 from a construction site after being accused of strangling a Cambodian woman, Voeun Srey Mao, 22, a day earlier at the Ly Hour Guesthouse in Daun Penh district.

A police report notes that the victim’s father, Ho Voeu, requested that the accused be prosecuted, and that he had asked for US$25,000 in compensation for the victim’s daughter.

Sarisi yesterday denied killing his girlfriend, but acknowledged that he had sex with her on October 10.

“I walked her to rent a room at the guesthouse around 8pm on October 10, and I had sex with her just once until I left the guesthouse at 6am,” he told the court.

According to a medical report issued to the court by referral doctor Iv Kiri in April and read to the court yesterday, the victim was killed between the hours of 2am and 3am on October 11.

Deputy prosecutor Koeur Bunnara said this report was enough to prove Sarisi’s guilt.

“It has proved that you killed the woman between the time of 2am and 3am,” he said. “You and the victim were together, and it has been proved by Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s referral examination that the victim was killed before you left the guesthouse.”

But defence lawyer Touch Chhay said the evidence produced against his client was insufficient.

“The doctor’s examination of the body was unclear, as there were no markings on the victim’s hands that would suggest the victim struggled, and the examination was unclear,” he said.

Koeur Bunnara said the accused faced a sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison under the Law on Aggravating Circumstances for Felonies.

Judge Ker Sakhorn said a verdict would be read out on August 5.