Phlong Srey Rann, 20, could be  spending the next four and a half years behind bars
for having sex with her girlfriend.

What a mess this is.
A great example of Guilty, until proven innocent…

“On August 10, 2011, [her girlfriend’s] brother filed a complaint that I
was illegally detaining her. The police then arrested me and accused me
of illegal detention and human trafficking,” Phlong Srey Rann
explained.

In November, a judge convicted her of having sexual intercourse with a minor and sentenced her to five years in prison.

The
“minor” involved was a co-worker she had met at a shoe factory in
Kandal province. They had been together for more than a year.

“I told police that I was not [involved in] human trafficking and that
we loved each other. I don’t understand why her brother filed a lawsuit
against me,” Phlong Srey Rann said.

Letters between the two
support these claims. One from her girlfriend identifies an older
brother as the source of the problem. “My brother is forcing me to stop
having a relationship with you, but I have to overcome it . . . you are
the person whom I love so much,” the hand-written letter reads.

Phlong
Srey Rann said it was news to her that her girlfriend was under age.
Her girlfriend’s family had provided falsified documents to the court
identifying their daughter as only 14 years old, she said.

“My girlfriend’s family lied to the court when they said she was only 14 years old,” Phlong Srey Rann said.

Cambodian
labour law stipulates that factory workers must be 18 or older, which
would mean that her girlfriend had been working in the factory since she
was 13.

Phlong Srey Rann’s girlfriend had been taken back to her village in
Kampot by her family, people familiar with the case said. She was
confined to her parents’ home and her mobile phone has been taken from
her, they said.

Still, a letter slipped through. “I love only
you. I will never love other. If my family does not love you, I will
still love you forever.”