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Australian Christian missionary Martin Chan has been found not guilty of fraud in Cambodia, bringing an end to a four-year ordeal to clear his name.
- Martin Chan was released on bail in February but has now been cleared of fraud in Cambodia
- He spent four years fighting his case and was crammed into an 8x6 metre prison cell with over 90 prisoners
- He and his wife are planning to stay in Cambodia and continue missionary work.
Mr Chan stood trial in Cambodia on charges of fraud, relating to a school building project he managed as a volunteer on behalf of a Christian-run organisation, HIS International Services.
But after a lengthy legal dispute, including his arrest and spending three months in a crowded prison cell, the missionary is grateful to be a free man.
"I'm relived to hear the result," Mr Chan said.
"I was a bit worried. Sometimes the court is a bit unpredictable here in Cambodia.
"I was really uncertain, but somehow we managed through. The reason, because of my faith. God has helped me through a difficult time," he said.
Mr Chan and his wife Deborah Kim volunteered as Christian missionaries in Cambodia for seven years.
He managed the school building project as a volunteer for HIS International Services.
It lost funding halfway through construction in 2016, and the contract was terminated with local builders PHV Construction.
But the building company, PHV Construction Co, claimed it was still owed millions of dollars.
Mr Chan and HIS International Services had previously been cleared of wrongdoing by a commercial dispute arbitration panel in 2017, but a local prosecutor brought fraud charges against him and another director of the Christian-run organisation.
Mr Chan was arrested and detained late last year as he and his wife Deborah Kim tried to board a plane to visit relatives in Hong Kong.
He was held in a Cambodian prison for three months on pre-trial detention, living in cramped conditions alongside convicted criminals.
"It was a very crowded cell that I was in — in an eight by six-metre cell, there were over 90 prisoners," he said.
"It's a very different world inside of prison."
He said he was well-treated but suffered a serious skin condition while incarcerated.
In February, Mr Chan was released on his third bail appeal, shortly after the ABC revealed his story which generated local and international interest in his plight.
His case also caught the attention of local MP Sok Sovann Vathana Sabung, who found irregularities in the proceedings and referred the matter to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Mr Chan said there was "a lot of room for improvement" in Cambodia's legal system.
He also thanked his friends in Australia and Cambodia, especially his wife, for fighting for his release.
"I really appreciate a partner like her, not only as a wife and a friend, but as someone that's so important in my life," he said
Despite the ordeal, he and his wife Deborah are planning to stay and continue their ministry work in Cambodia, where they also run an optical shop.
"It's a four-year journey, but it finally ended, and we can officially start a new chapter," he said.
Additional reporting by Erin Handley
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, cambodia, asia