PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – A Cambodian court has sentenced three military commandos to a year in prison for beating up two opposition lawmakers outside the parliament last year. The court also ordered them to pay fines totaling $21,500 as the legislators' lawyer called the punishment too lenient.
In his verdict Friday, Phnom Penh presiding judge Heng Sokna initially sentenced the three men to four years in jail but suspended the sentence to one year.
The attack occurred in October 2015 when two opposition lawmakers from the Cambodia National Rescue Party were confronted by a pro-government mob, which was demanding the resignation of the party's deputy leader Kem Sonkha.
Heng Sokna said the attack on the lawmakers by the three members of an elite military unit hurt the nation's reputation and left the victims injured.