A Nigerian national sentenced to 11 years on robbery and drug-use convictions in two separate cases appealed the verdicts yesterday, asking for a reduced sentence and not to be deported.

In addition to drug use and robbery, a Phnom Penh Municipal judge convicted Nwaty Chales Ugo Chukwu, 28, of illegal immigration and violent theft in March of 2011, said presiding Appeal Court Judge Khun Leangmeng.

Convictions stem from two 2010 incidents. On February 6 that year, Chukwu reportedly threatened another Nigerian national he knew with a meat cleaver, demanding money, Leangmeng said.

Chukwu was arrested on March 2, 2010, a day after Nigerian national Adebe Franksis reported to police that he and a friend were beaten and robbed of a phone by Chukwu.

Chukwu was found by police to have arrived in Cambodia illegally and allegedly confessed to using drugs. A verdict will be handed down on January 8.