The Appeal Court on Friday granted bail to Martin Chan King Wai, an Australian Christian missionary jailed on alleged fraud charges over a failed school project in Kandal province’s Takhmao town. Pheng Vannak
The Appeal Court on Friday granted bail to Martin Chan King Wai, an Australian Christian missionary jailed on alleged fraud charges over a failed school project in Kandal province’s Takhmao town.
“The Appeal Court ruled in favour of Chan on Friday and according to procedure. The decision of the Court of Appeal was right. I want to emphasise that this bail does not mean he is acquitted,” said Appeal Court spokesman Touch Tharith on Sunday.
Chan was charged in December 2018 with fraud in relation to a school project he contracted to PHV Construction Co Ltd in 2015 for $2.9 million.
In February 2016, Chan – who then represented the charity His International Services – halted the project due to a lack of funds.
Deborah Kim, his wife, told The Post on Thursday that PHV then sought retribution through civil cases which it lost all the way up to the Supreme Court. A criminal complaint was then filed.
Tharith noted that Chan must appear when summoned in relation to his ongoing case by the Kandal Provincial Court.
“He has to guarantee his appearance when summoned by the court,” Tharith said. “If he does not comply, the court will take other legal action.”
Kim told The Post on Sunday that the judge did not comment on the reason for the bail on Friday.
However, she noted that the decision of the Court of Appeal was right because Chan’s case was not a criminal matter but a civil one which he had won in 2017.
“I thank God that the judges and prosecutors at the Court of Appeal have ruled fairly.
“We will fight until the company drops the charges against my husband. I believe the Cambodian legal system will do us justice,” she said.
Chan’s lawyer Ly Kimlun said on Sunday that Chan has not yet been freed from prison because the Court of Appeal decision may be appealed by the prosecutor-general to the Supreme Court.
“According to procedure, he stays in jail until the prosecutor-general agrees, as this is a criminal procedure. On Monday, I will follow up on the verdict of the Appeal Court and inform the prosecutor-general to see if he agrees or not.
“If the prosecutor-general does not agree, he will appeal the case to the Supreme Court and the accused still remains in custody. If the prosecutor agrees and we have the parole warrant, the accused will be out of prison. Right now I do not know-how. Let’s see tomorrow,” he said.
According to the Kandal Provincial Court, Chan was accused by the prosecutor of fraud and faces six months to three years in jail if convicted.
On Thursday, Kim claimed the company filed a vindictive criminal complaint against her husband, leading to his detention in November last year.
“PHV lost the civil case which was decided at the Supreme Court so PHV sued again in the Kandal court and made it into a criminal case without evidence.
“Even the prosecutor wants to release him, but the judge detained him even though the court doesn’t have any evidence of the fraud charge,” she said.
She claimed PHV initially agreed to the termination, but later took the case to the National Arbitration Centre and lost there too.
She said PHV appealed all the way to the Supreme Court and again lost, after which they filed the fraud complaint claiming the contract was terminated “without reason”, which she said is false.
