A man who was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for a 2007 rape asked the Appeal Court on Tuesday to release him on bail as he was suffering from mental illness.

His victim also told the court that the act was, in fact, consensual, and asked for his release as well.

The suspect was identified as 62-year-old Ry Yoeung, a resident of Prampi Makara district’s Borei Keila village in Phnom Penh.

Yoeung said he and his then 23-year-old victim had consensual sex, but she reported him for rape, at which point he fled.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced him in absentia in January 2010 to a 10-year sentence and ordered him to pay four million riel ($997) in compensation to the victim. Yoeung was finally arrested in 2016 after nine years on the run, and authorities sent him to Prey Sar prison.

“I filed a complaint to the Appeal Court because I was mentally ill. I did not rape the girl. It was a false accusation . . . we loved each other. I ask the court to release me on bail because I suffer from mental illness,” he said.

The victim, who attended the Appeal Court hearing on Tuesday, admitted that the rape claim was false.

“I was forced by my father to file a lawsuit against him. After that, I withdrew the claim. I would approve his request to be released on bail. I would not feel afraid about being threatened if he was released. He and I loved each other. We had [consensual] sexual intercourse,” she said.

Defence lawyer Choung Chou Ngy said his client made the appeal because of his mental illness, also highlighting that the victim had already withdrawn the complaint.

He called for the Appeal Court to release his client on bail.

“My client has a proper address and employment. If the court agrees to release him on bail, I am sure that when he is summoned again, he will appear in court,” he said.

Presiding Judge Chan Madina will issue a verdict on January 28.