A construction worker suffering with mental health problems was jailed yesterday for raping a girl, aged five, in a pagoda last year after giving her money for sweets.

Mom Ngor, aged 20, was found guilty of the offence at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday.

Presiding judge Suos Sam Ath told the court that the worker had approached the girl as she was sitting under a Bohdi tree in Prek Bra pagoda, in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district on March 25, 2010, about 6pm.

“He gave 100 riels to the victim, who was sitting alone in the pagoda under the Bohdi tree, to buy the sweets. Then he brought her into a dining room in the pagoda where she was raped,” he said.

“The court has found that he is a guilty man, but because he has mental health issues it is decided to sentence him a five years in jail only,” he added yesterday.

Ing Vanchhean, Mom Ngor’s lawyer, said that a doctor’s certificate stated that Mom Ngor had suffered from mental health problems since childhood.  

“He cannot not speak well, and cannot count even the numbers from one to ten. I would like to ask the court to drop charges against him and release him so that he can go back to the hospital for his treatment,” he said during the hearing. Mong Ngor denied the charges during his trial in May, claiming he just bought sweets for the young girl.