Cambodian court hands top opposition figure huge fine

Son Chhay, center, deputy leader of the opposition political Candlelight Party, talks to the media in front of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on October 7, 2022 (Heng Sinith/AP/PA)

A court in Cambodia has imposed a heavy fine on a leading opposition politician after finding him guilty of defamation for saying that nationwide local elections in June were unfair.

Son Chhay, deputy president of the Candlelight Party, had said in an online interview after the polls that the National Election Committee was biased in favour of the governing Cambodian People’s Party. He also alleged there was vote-buying and intimidation of voters.