Chhouk Rin (Photo: AFP)March 24, 2007
Agence France-Presse
PHNOM PENH - A former Khmer Rouge commander, who is serving a life term for his role in the murder of three Westerners, was sent to a hospital Saturday for AIDS treatment, an official said.
Chhouk Rin, 54, will receive antiretroviral treatment at the hospital in Phnom Penh, said Mong Kim Heng, the director of Prey Sar prison in the outskirts of the Cambodian capital.
"He is still strong and healthy," he said, adding Chhouk Rin had requested a hospital transfer.
His wife, Yem Sao, told AFP Saturday he has lost weight and is suffering from severe headaches.
"I am very worried that he cannot live a long life," she said.
Chhouk Rin is serving a life sentence over the 1994 murder of three Western backpackers.
The trio -- Australian David Wilson, 29, Briton Mark Slater, 28, and Frenchman Jean-Michel Braquet, 27 -- were snatched from a train travelling between Phnom Penh and the southern coastal city of Sihanoukville.
Thirteen Cambodians also died in the attack and the Westerners were held for two months by Khmer Rouge rebels before ransom negotiations failed and they were murdered.
Along with Chhouk Rin, two other former Khmer Rouge members, Nuon Paet and Sam Bith, are serving life prison sentences for the backpacker killings.
The Khmer Rouge terrorised Cambodia during their leader Pol Pot's "Killing Fields" regime from 1975 to 1979, leaving up to two million people dead due to starvation, overwork and from execution.
Chhouk Rin, 54, will receive antiretroviral treatment at the hospital in Phnom Penh, said Mong Kim Heng, the director of Prey Sar prison in the outskirts of the Cambodian capital.
"He is still strong and healthy," he said, adding Chhouk Rin had requested a hospital transfer.
His wife, Yem Sao, told AFP Saturday he has lost weight and is suffering from severe headaches.
"I am very worried that he cannot live a long life," she said.
Chhouk Rin is serving a life sentence over the 1994 murder of three Western backpackers.
The trio -- Australian David Wilson, 29, Briton Mark Slater, 28, and Frenchman Jean-Michel Braquet, 27 -- were snatched from a train travelling between Phnom Penh and the southern coastal city of Sihanoukville.
Thirteen Cambodians also died in the attack and the Westerners were held for two months by Khmer Rouge rebels before ransom negotiations failed and they were murdered.
Along with Chhouk Rin, two other former Khmer Rouge members, Nuon Paet and Sam Bith, are serving life prison sentences for the backpacker killings.
The Khmer Rouge terrorised Cambodia during their leader Pol Pot's "Killing Fields" regime from 1975 to 1979, leaving up to two million people dead due to starvation, overwork and from execution.
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