The accused killer of a prominent Cambodian government critic pleaded guilty to his murder on Wednesday, as his trial got underway at a court in Phnom Penh.
Oueth Ang had previously confessed to shooting Kem Ley at a Caltex gas station in the Cambodian capital on the morning of July 10, 2016 after he was caught by police fleeing the scene.
The 43-year-old labourer claims to have killed Kem Ley because he had paid him 3,000 dollars through an unnamed middleman to secure him a job in Phnom Penh which never materialised.
The sum is three times the average national income but Oueth Ang says he acquired it from a land sale.
Kem Ley’s murder, however, is widely seen as politically motivated due to his position as a prominent political analyst, government critic and pro-democracy campaigner.
He also founded the Grassroots Democratic Party, which had seen some success in rural parts of Cambodia.
Oueth Ang is due to be sentenced at Phnom Penh Municipal Court on March 23. (dpa/NAN)
AIJ/MO
