A man who was sentenced to life imprisonment on a murder charge pleaded guilty at the Supreme Court on Monday.
Lay Vannak, 42, admitted his role in the August 2011 robbery in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district in which the 48-year-old victim was shot in the chest during the theft of a bag containing 100 million riel (around $25,000) as she and her son returned home from changing money at Olympic Market in Chamkarmon district.
Three shots were fired, with one hitting the victim. She died later in the capital’s Calmette Hospital.
“I did not intend to kill the victim. I was asked to take part in the robbery,” Vannak said at his trial.
Prosecutor Veng Bunthoeun, however, said the lower court’s verdict should be upheld as Vannak’s confession matched an account given by the victim’s son.
Presiding Judge Khem Bun said the verdict will be handed down next Monday.
Vannak and his three accomplices were found guilty in April 2012 of premeditated murder under Article 200 of the Criminal Code.
