All charges were dropped against a man accused of raping his niece by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday.

Hem Sakhorn, 43 and Vietnamese, was released from jail because, according to judge Kor Vandy, there was insufficient evidence to support an allegation that he raped 17-year-old Nguven Thiyong on May 13 in Chbar Ampov district’s Chbar Ampov II commune.

“The victim has also withdrawn the lawsuit against the defendant,” Kor added.

According to the original police report, Thiyong was grabbed and raped by her uncle after she had gone to the construction worker’s room to ask for $2.

The pair were discovered together in the afternoon by the teenager’s elder sister, the report added, who alerted police, who then arrested Sakhorn.

However, Thiyong told the court her uncle didn’t rape her, but said she was not believed by her elder sister, who pressed charges.

Sokhorn welcomed the decision to free him, but was angry he had been incarcerated in the first place.