Phnom Penh: The Phnom Penh Court of Appeal on the morning of September 15, 2021, held a hearing on the appeal of a Japanese man sentenced to 25 years for attempting to transport nearly 2 kg of drugs from Cambodia to Japan, via Phnom Penh International Airport, in February 2020.
The trial was presided over by Judge Pov Phousun, presiding judge, and represented by Deputy Prosecutor Tan Seng Narong.
Judge Phu Sun said during the hearing that the accused was Nonaka Shunichi, a 73-year-old Japanese tourist.
Judge Phu Sun said that the accused was sentenced by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on October 22, 2020 to 25 years in prison for transporting drugs across the border in accordance with Article 40 of the Law on Drug Control. .
However, he appealed the court’s decision to the Court of Appeal for a commutation of his sentence.
During the appeal, the defendant confessed and admitted his guilt, but claimed that the drugs confiscated from his suitcase did not belong to him. He said that a Nigerian man was behind the operation.
He requested the Court of Appeal to commute his sentence so that he could return to his family soon. The Phnom Penh Court of Appeal will announce its verdict on September 28, 2021.
