A GERMAN tourist who tried to illegally enter Cambodia from Thailand has been shot dead trying to escape the Khmer Rouge, according to a Thai border official quoted by the Deutch Press Association.

DPA said the man, Mathias Wolf, 32, from Stad, illegally crossed the Thai border on a motorbike on his way to Ban Loem, near Pailin.

The agency quoted the Thai official, who had spoken to witnesses, as saying Wolf stopped to refuel his motorbike.

Wolf was last seen on Dec 8 when he rode across the Thai-Cambodian border without a obtaining a visa.

The German Embassy received reports he went missing and had asked Cambodian Foreign Minister Ung Huot to investigate.

The Ministry of Interior was given that task. Khmer Rouge radio had yet to issue any statement at the time of press.