A 60-year-old “magic teacher” was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and fined 24 million riel (US$5,970) in Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday, over charges of purchasing child prostitution and committing indecent acts against a minor under the age of 15. Lim Chanthan, a spiritual healer and teacher of the Three Vedas, an ancient Hindu form of magic, was convicted for conducting sexual activity with eight underage girls between 2008 and 2010. He was arrested in October last year in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district and said yesterday in court that he plans to appeal the charges.