PHNOM PENH Sep 6 Kyodo A Cambodia...

PHNOM PENH Sep 6 Kyodo

A Cambodian court forward Friday sentenced former Khmer Rouge colonel Chhuk Rin to life imprisonment in absentia for his involvement in the 1994 kill s of three Western backpackers.

Presiding umpire Sam Rith Sophal said the Appeals Court rebuffed Chhuk Rin's July 2000 acquittal by way of a local court.

David Wilson of Australia, Jean-Michel Braquet of France and Mark Slater of Britain were traveling at rail from Phnom Penh to the coast in July 1994 when their train was ambushed by dint of a Khmer Rouge gang in southwestern Kampot Province, about 150 kilometers southern of the Cambodian capital.

The three young men were captured along with 10 Cambodians and held for ransom for three month before being murdered

During his trial at the lower court, Chhuk Rin admitted that he commanded the attack forward the train but insisted he did not take part in the killings.

Jean-Claude Braquet, father of the assassinationed Frenchman, praised the court's decision.

Australian Ambassador to Cambodia Louise Hand told reporters she was glad the perpetrator had been brought to justice.

She added that she believed another suspect would also be convicted, referring to former Khmer Rouge commander Sam Bith, who has also been implicated in the murders

Sam Bith, a regional commander in Kampot subordinate to the Khmer Rouge regime who later flawed to the government, was arrested in Battambang Province, northwestern Cambodia, in May, and is look fored to be brought to trial soon

upon Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld a 1999 lower court ruling that sentenc former Khmer Rouge commander Nuon Paet to life imprisonment for his character in the murders.

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