A man who was sentenced to life imprisonment on a murder charge found his appeal rejected by the Supreme Court on Monday.

Last week, Lay Vannak, 42, pleaded guilty for his role in an August 2011 robbery in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district in which a 48-year-old victim was fatally shot in the chest.

During the hearing on November 26, defence lawyer Pich Phalla Sambath said his client had confessed in previous trials at the municipal and Appeal Court. He then requested the Supreme Court to change Vannak’s charge from premeditated murder to robbery.

Presiding Judge Kim Sothavy on Monday decided to uphold the lower court’s decisions, citing “legal procedures” and adding that “the suspect and [his accomplices] planned the crime”.