A man serving 14 years in prison for the 2009 killing of a Cambodian couple in Thailand had his appeal to the Supreme Court heard on Monday.

Ros Sokhon, 25, told the court he had been working in Thailand in 2009 when he befriended Pork Seiha and his wife Huon Sokha.

In August that year, Seiha got into a fight with another man, the court heard. As Sokhon attempted to break up the fight, Seiha attacked him, with the appellant grabbing a knife to defend himself.

“Those fighting with the victim were arrested by the Thai authorities, but I don’t know how many. I returned to Cambodia. I ask the court to free me,” he said.

The court report from the original trial said Sokhon slit the female victim’s throat, while her husband was stabbed multiple times.

Oddar Meanchey provincial court found Sokhon guilty of “torture and acts of cruelty” under Article 210 of Criminal Code on August 8, 2011 and sentenced him to 15 years in jail.

Dissatisfied with the verdict, he filed a complaint at the Appeal Court, which, while finding him guilty of murder under Article 199 of the Criminal Code on April 30, 2015, handed down a lesser sentence of 14 years in prison.

Prosecutor Chhoun Chantha said that while the appellant had asked the court to reduce his sentence, the Appeal Court had previously already done so.

“I ask the court to consider this case according to the law,” he said.

Defence lawyer Ing Veasna said his client had committed the crime unintentionally and had confessed and shown remorse from the beginning.

Presiding Judge Khem Bun said the court will announce its verdict on Monday.