[Thai man] Jailed for laying landmines

Supharp Prakna (2rd L), a Thai national, is escorted by military personal after his trial at a military court in Phnom Penh February 12, 2010. The Cambodian military court convicted and sentenced Prakna to 20 years in prison for terrorism charges. 39 year-old Prakna was arrested on April 24, 2009 at Anlong Veng district of Oddar Meanchey province, 240 km north of the Cambodia-Thai border, carrying a number of landmines with him so he could plant them, officials said. REUTERS/Stringer

Feb 12, 2010
AFP

PHNOM PENH - A CAMBODIAN military tribunal convicted a Thai man of planting landmines along the country's disputed border on Friday and sentenced him to 20 years in prison, court officials said.

Thai national Suphaph Vong Pakna confessed in proceedings last week to planting at least five mines in territory disputed between Thailand and Cambodia, saying Thai soldiers had paid him to do it.

'The court has considered the accused person's confession, so it sentences him to a jail term of 20 years, which is open to appeal,' military judge Pohk Pan said.

Suphaph, arrested last February, faced a maximum of 30 years in prison for attempted murder, endangering national security and entering Cambodia illegally.

Defence lawyer Sam Sokong said he would consult his client on whether to appeal the decision.

Cambodia is at loggerheads with Thailand over their border. Demarcation is complicated by landmines that still litter the area following decades of civil war in Cambodia.