Synopsis: A Chinese and 19 Myanmar nationals are sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to five years for establishing an illegal armed movement.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court last week sentenced 21 men – including a Chinese national and 19 Myanmar citizens – to between two and five years in prison for establishing an unlawful armed movement.
Presiding Judge Rem Sopheak identified the primary Chinese defendant as Lin Jing Run, 42, a former security chief at a Chinese-owned casino in Bokor City, Kampot province.
The sole Cambodian defendant was identified as Pok Saveth, 38, a bus driver.
The 19 Myanmar defendants, aged between 20 and 25, were employed as security guards at the same Bokor City casino.
“The court sentences Lin Jing Run and the 19 Myanmar defendants to five years each in prison,” Sopheak said during the verdict reading. “The court orders their deportation from Cambodia immediately after they have served their sentences.”
Saveth is to serve two years in prison, Judge Sopheak said.
The court sentenced another Chinese national, Li Yung, to five years in prison in absentia and issued a warrant for his arrest. Li remains at large. All defendants were convicted of the unlawful raising of armed forces under Article 463 of the Criminal Code.
Police arrested Lin, a Chinese national, and 20 Myanmar nationals on May 6, 2025, while they were travelling to Mondulkiri wearing military-style uniforms and carrying walkie-talkies, electric batons and handcuffs without passports.
Authorities concluded they were operating an illegal foreign armed group. Lin admitted entering Cambodia illegally but denied forming an armed force, saying he was following his casino employer’s orders. Driver Saveth also denied wrongdoing, claiming he unknowingly transported the group after being hired by his employer.
