Fugitive former ambassador to Brunei Nan Sy had been ordered to sell his two properties to pay back funds embezzled from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, officials said yesterday.

Sous Sam Ath, vice-president of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said the court had last week issued a letter to Nan Sy instructing him to sell his two pieces of land.

Ky Tech, a government lawyer, said that if Nan Sy did not sell the properties within 15 days of the notification, the court could lawfully intervene to auction them off.

Nan Sy was sentenced in absentia by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in November to four years in jail and fined eight million riel (US$2,000) for embezzling funds intended to build an embassy in Brunei.

On February 2, at the conclusion of a civil case against him, he was ordered to return $432,876 in compensation to the ministry and pay about $36,000 in damages.

To contact the reporter on this story: Buth Reaksmey Kongkea at [email protected]