4 Sentenced in Toxic Waste Case

Four men were convicted of importing 3,000 tons of toxic waste in December that caused a deadly panic in the Cambodian coastal city of Sihanoukville. Sam Moeun received seven months in prison in addition to a three-year suspended sentence and was fined $1,300. Two Taiwanese businessmen, Chang Ku-fong and Kao Jia-song, and their Cambodian translator, Phan Phung, were sentenced in absentia to five years in prison and fined about $500,000. The judge convicted them of masterminding the import of the waste from Taiwan and crudely disposing of it on the outskirts of town, sparking panic among residents. It was shipped back to Taiwan in early April.