Sam Bith

Sam Bith
Sam Bith
Born	Samuel Bith; May 1, 1933; Cambodia
Died	February 15, 2008; Cambodia
Conviction(s)	kidnapping, conspiring in premeditated murder, terrorism and robbery

Sam Bith (May 1, 1933 – February 15, 2008) was a Cambodian guerrilla commander, convicted murderer for Khmer Rouge, and former deputy to its military head Ta Mok.

On July 26, 1994, Bith and his fleet of rebels ambushed a train carrying the three backpackers – Australian David Wilson, Briton Mark Slater and Frenchman Jean-Michel Braquet,

Kampot.^[1]^[2] They were killed three months after the attack when government-backed negotiations for their release and the $150,000 ransom failed.^[1]

Fellow rebel Nuon Paet was sentenced to life in prison for his role in it in June 1999.[2] In his trial, he testified against Bith, claiming that Bith, his superior officer, ordered them killed.^[2] By the time the manhunt began that same year Bith was a general in the Royal Cambodian Army after defecting from the Khmer Rouge in 1996.^[2]

Bith was found following the publication in a Thai newspaper of reports of his lavish home in

Pailin in western Cambodia.^[2] He was charged with kidnapping, conspiring in premeditated murder, terrorism and robbery in December 2002 and was sentenced to life in prison.^[1]^[2] Bith pleaded innocent to those charges, claiming in court he had already been relieved of his position as a regional commander by Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot several weeks before the train ambush.^[1] He had been suffering from health problems the day before his arrest and two doctors had been assigned to look over him.^[2]

Bith died on February 15, 2008, aged 74.

Sino-Khmer roots.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Sam Bith". Associated Press. February 16, 2008. Archived from the original on September 13, 2005. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Khmer Rouge commander charged". BBC News. May 23, 2002. Retrieved February 16, 2008.

[leg-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Sam Bith". Associated Press. February 16, 2008. Archived from the original on September 13, 2005. Retrieved February 16, 2008.

[bbc-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Khmer Rouge commander charged". BBC News. May 23, 2002. Retrieved February 16, 2008.

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