OH Noooo Ohhhhhhhh
Posted on 11/15/2002 3:03:37 PM PST by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A Cambodian woman who murdered her husband by axing him repeatedly in the groin before running off with her son-in-law has been sentenced to 15 years in jail, officials said Friday.
But 35-year-old Chhoeun Sovann, from Kompong Thom province 100 km (60 miles) northeast of Phnom Penh, is not yet behind bars.
Six years after the murder, prosecutors say they cannot find her. The verdict was handed down in absentia.
In a case shocking even by Cambodian standards, Chhoeun Sovann set about battering her husband to death with the blunt end of an axe, the blows falling mainly on his groin.
"She fell in love with her son-in-law, which was against her husband's wishes. Finally, she had to kill her husband so she could escape with her lover," female presiding judge Sim Samoeu told Reuters.
"It is totally unacceptable in Cambodia that a wife should kill her husband by smashing his genitals," the judge said. "After hours of deliberation, I decided to punish her with 15 years in jail."
She also awarded the victim's family compensation of two million riels ($500) -- nearly double the average Cambodian annual wage.
Under Cambodia's notoriously erratic and ineffective judicial system, trials in absentia are relatively common as are cases of convicted criminals enjoying their freedom for years after receiving hefty jail sentences.
OH Noooo Ohhhhhhhh
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