PHNOM PENH: A judge at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court has sentenced three Chinese nationals to life in prison in connection with a drug trafficking case that authorities cracked down on in 2020.

The President of the Council of Judges of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Say Srey Leak, announced the verdict on Monday, 14 March, sentencing the three Chinese defendants to life imprisonment, and a fine of 100 million Riel each (to be paid to the state budget) on charges of illegally storing, transporting and trafficking nearly two kilograms of drugs.

The three Chinese defendants are 49-year-old Zi Sibei (alias Sin), 24-year-old Ba Yun, and 24-year-old Hou Tao (alias Ji). They were detained for two years before being tried and convicted.

On 17-18 October 2020, the Anti-Drug Department, in cooperation with the Phnom Penh Municipal Police and the Deputy Prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, investigated and cracked down on a case of drug trafficking in front of a rented room on Street 2002, Teuk Thla Commune, Sen Sok District, Phnom Penh.

Authorities arrested the three Chinese nationals separately after it was reported that they had smuggled nearly two kilograms of drugs across the border into Phnom Penh. This included 45 grams of nicotine, 1.38 kilograms of methamphetamine, 29.21 grams of WY tablets, and 34.90 grams of ecstasy, worth a total of more than US $50,000.