The recent deportation to Malaysia of two French nationals convicted of purchasing sex with minors demonstrates an encouraging trend, but more enforcement is necessary, a child rights group said yesterday.

Following one of several recent court orders for deportation, Denis Page, 63, and Jean Vidon, 67, convicted of purchasing sex with two boys aged 15 and 17 in 2011, on Thursday were sent to Kuala Lumpur as part of a sentence handed down by Battambang provincial court in October, country director of Action Pour Les Enfants Samleang Seila said.

The sentence also required that the offenders pay the two victims $1,000 each and that they serve partially suspended three-year prison terms, most of which they had completed at the time of sentencing.

“Deportation is necessary, because we don’t have a strong system to manage those who’ve been convicted of child sex abuse,” Seila said, noting that more than 90 per cent of sex crime cases APLE handled involved repeat offenders.

He added that while the deportations of Page, Vidon and Daniel Lavigne, who was sent to Canada at the end of last month, are positive developments, court orders in such cases are often not adequately enforced.

He pointed to the cases of Korean-Australian Charles Sohn, who is “still walking free in Siem Reap” following the suspension of his sentence on time served in August, and Robert Hardy, Jr, who was ordered in August to leave the country but whose whereabouts are unknown.

Pin Piseth, director of the Ministry of Interior’s immigration police department, and Khieu Sopheak, Ministry of Interior spokesman, could not be reached.

To contact the reporter on this story: Justine Drennan at [email protected]

Chhay Channyda contributed to this reporting