A 26-YEAR-OLD garment worker was sentenced to seven years in jail yesterday for the rape of a colleague.

Chim Sothan, a worker at the Suntac factory in Dangkor district, Phnom Penh, was found guilty in the Phnom Penh Municipal Court of raping a woman, 18.

He had driven the woman to Boeung Snar, a popular lakeside tourist spot in Russei Keo district where there are wooden huts for rent and food for sale, on June 16. While renting a room at the destination, he raped the woman, sparking a complaint, the court heard. Presiding judge Suos Sam Ath also ordered Chim Sothan  to pay four million riels (about US$1,000) in compensation.