By PAUL EASTON
The Dominion Post (New Zealand)
Supporters of a former Wellington man jailed for rape in Cambodia fear he will die behind bars, as hopes of a fresh appeal fade.
Graham Cleghorn has just spent his ninth New Year in a Cambodian prison – and now faces the prospect of an extra 10 years being added to his sentence because he is unable to pay reparations to his accusers.
He was sentenced to 20 years in 2004 for raping five of his employees, aged 14 to 19, in Siem Reap, about 300 kilometres northwest of Phnom Penh.
The former Angkor temple tour guide maintains he was framed by the Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre. Cleghorn, in his early 60s, says it fabricated the charges to get foreign aid money.
The group and the complainants vehemently deny his claims.
Two years ago, the Cambodian Court of Appeal threw out Cleghorn's second appeal.
A spokeswoman at the Foreign Affairs Ministry said the New Zealand embassy in Bangkok continued to monitor Mr Cleghorn's case and his wellbeing, and was in regular contact with his daughter in Australia.
Cleghorn was last visited by consular staff from the British embassy in Phnom Penh on December 9, the spokeswoman said. "We understand he has lodged a final Supreme Court Appeal."
However, his New Zealand lawyer, Greg King, said the appeal was "a pretty bleak prospect".
It had become bogged down in red tape and demands for tens of thousands of dollars in advance from lawyers. "It's just languishing"
Cleghorn's health was deteriorating, Mr King said. It was also possible that 10 years could be added to his sentence, as he was unable to pay reparations to his five accusers. "They could add two years on for each one."
Based on the evidence, Cleghorn would never have been convicted in a New Zealand court, Mr King said. "Yet he's still stuck in jail over there."
Supporter Brian Robinson said he had not heard from Cleghorn for months. "You can only imagine what he must be going through, what the conditions must be like. The rest of his sentence is probably longer than he is going to live."
Mr Robinson, who runs a website supporting Cleghorn, said he believed the Kiwi was the victim of a corrupt system. "In a country that's desperately poor, you get decisions that are based on bribery."
Graham Cleghorn has just spent his ninth New Year in a Cambodian prison – and now faces the prospect of an extra 10 years being added to his sentence because he is unable to pay reparations to his accusers.
He was sentenced to 20 years in 2004 for raping five of his employees, aged 14 to 19, in Siem Reap, about 300 kilometres northwest of Phnom Penh.
The former Angkor temple tour guide maintains he was framed by the Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre. Cleghorn, in his early 60s, says it fabricated the charges to get foreign aid money.
The group and the complainants vehemently deny his claims.
Two years ago, the Cambodian Court of Appeal threw out Cleghorn's second appeal.
A spokeswoman at the Foreign Affairs Ministry said the New Zealand embassy in Bangkok continued to monitor Mr Cleghorn's case and his wellbeing, and was in regular contact with his daughter in Australia.
Cleghorn was last visited by consular staff from the British embassy in Phnom Penh on December 9, the spokeswoman said. "We understand he has lodged a final Supreme Court Appeal."
However, his New Zealand lawyer, Greg King, said the appeal was "a pretty bleak prospect".
It had become bogged down in red tape and demands for tens of thousands of dollars in advance from lawyers. "It's just languishing"
Cleghorn's health was deteriorating, Mr King said. It was also possible that 10 years could be added to his sentence, as he was unable to pay reparations to his five accusers. "They could add two years on for each one."
Based on the evidence, Cleghorn would never have been convicted in a New Zealand court, Mr King said. "Yet he's still stuck in jail over there."
Supporter Brian Robinson said he had not heard from Cleghorn for months. "You can only imagine what he must be going through, what the conditions must be like. The rest of his sentence is probably longer than he is going to live."
Mr Robinson, who runs a website supporting Cleghorn, said he believed the Kiwi was the victim of a corrupt system. "In a country that's desperately poor, you get decisions that are based on bribery."
9 comments:
BE WARNED TO ALL. i am against sexual exploitation and i am also very concern about the Cambodian justice system holding people for ransoms. most of the predators of sexual exploitation are done by the Cambodian officials and Cambodian old men. if you are foreigner and Cambodian from overseas, you could be set up for ransoms. i am a Cambodian i choose to stay away from Cambodia for the very reason. the Cambodian officials are thieves and thugs.
NO YOU ARE WRONG!CAMBODIA IS A COUNTRY OF RESPECT, GOOD PEOPLE THAT INCLUDING THE POLICE AND AND THE H.E EXELENCY, DECHO HUN SEN IS A VERY GOOD MAN HE BRING PEACE AND STABILITY TO CAMBODIA AND ECONOMY FOR HIS PEOPLE, YOU NEED TO WATCH MORE OF THE TVK PROGRAM ABOUT CAMBODIA AND HOW CAMBODIA IS CHANGING TODAY! LOVE TO ALL CAMBODIAN OUT THERE SPECIALY TO THE POLICE, ARMY, THE DECHO BODY GUARD.
ARUN PICH
KOK KONG
4:54 AM
you fucked head
go eat shit and die, asshole
yes, and die with your leaders too, asshole
you're fucking loser, asshole
the Cambodian officials will do anything to secure their revenue. right or wrong. ie unjustly holding people in custody and false arrests, fabrication white washing and so on....
it's a dog eat dog world. Cambodian has polite language but those officials never use it to exert their power.
Mr.ARUN PICH
KOK KONG
tell me if my statement is true.
4:28 you are fucking stupid.............GOOD DONT COME BACK TO CAMBODIA MOTHERFUCKER.....WE DONT NOT NEED ANY FAKE FUCKERS HERE.........AND TO ARUN PICH, YEAH CAMBODIA IS CHANGING ,BUT THEY ARE STILL CURRUPT.........AND HUN SEN AINT BRINGING IN STABILITY FOR CAMBODIA YOU MORON...
EVICTING PEOPLE OUT OF THERE HOMES FOR BUSINESSES DOES NOT BRING STABILITY TO CAMBODIA....MAYBE WE SHOULD TAKE YOUR HOUSE AURIN PICH, AND TURN IT INTO A PARKING LOT FOR MOTO TAXI DRIVERS.....THEN YOU ASK YOURSELF IS THAT STABILITY...........AURIN PICH LET ME ASK YOU SOMTHING....DID YOU EVER SEE THE SHOW ARE YOU SMARTER THEN A 5TH GRADER ? YOUR SAMDECH AH HUNSEN IS NOT!!!!!...MY DOG IS SMARTER THEN HIM
5:23 AM
Your language suits that of the dog. Are you a dog, doggie? your kind needs some whipping so you can get your act straight. Maybe a drop kick to your head would do better.
why people swear?
Only uneducated low life people would swear to get an attention. That's normal for a scum of society.
Let the bastard suffer in jail...
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