The Supreme Court heard the case of an alleged British rapist on Monday who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a 2009 incident in the capital.

While absent from the proceedings, David John Fletcher, 77, was sentenced to 10 years by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, which found him guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl. Fletcher fled to Thailand after the incident.

His case was brought to the Appeal Court where the sentence was upheld.

On Monday, prosecutor Duch Kimsorn said: “This prisoner did not commit the crime. The council should consider this in accordance with the law.” Mun Vimean Champa, Fletcher’s defence lawyer, agreed with the prosecutor.

The verdict will be declared on September 17.