Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday charged one American man and one Vietnamese woman over the alleged sale of their daughter. The prosecutor has yet to declare a verdict.
The 60-old-year American defendant, who is a foreign teacher, and a 40-old-year Vietnamese woman, Chan Phally, were arrested on October 26, 2008 in Phnom Penh.
The 16-year-old victim and NGO representatives have closely cooperated to file complaint against her mother and the American man.
“I have not done anything wrong,” the American man said. “Her mother and I only held a birthday and engagement party for her.”
The accused Vietnamese lady also rejected the accusations “I have not sold my beloved daughter at all,” she said. “I have made a legal engagement party for her so I have not done as the charges state,” she claimed in court.
Both defendants’ lawyers also rejected the indictment.
“They both did not commit this case because it is just an engagement party and then they just kissed to show their love,” one defense lawyer said. “The American man has not touched the girl at all.”
The victim’s lawyer, an NGOs representative, was skeptical of such claims.
“Holding an engagement party is just a game playing to cheat people,” he said.
“The daughter, aged 16, claimed that the American man kissed and intimately touched her, even though she asked for the wedding to be cancelled, the lawyer claimed.
The court prosecutors will soon declare their verdict. |
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