Sam Bith (May 1, 1933 – February 15, 2008) was a Cambodian guerrilla commander, convicted murderer for

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

, and former deputy to its military head

Ta Mok Ta Mok (; born Chhit Choeun, ; 1924 – 21 July 2006), also known as Nguon Kang, was a Cambodian military chief and soldier who was a senior figure in the Khmer Rouge and the leader of the national army of Democratic Kampuchea. He was also kn ...

. 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, with at least ten Cambodians being killed in the attack itself. The group held the three foreigners and several Cambodians under "miserable conditions" at Vine Mountain rebel base in the southern Cambodian province of

Kampot Kampot () is a city in southern Cambodia and the capital of Kampot province. It is situated on the Praek Tuek Chhu River, southeast of the Elephant Mountains, and around from the Gulf of Thailand. Kampot was the capital of the ''Circonscrip ...

. They were killed three months after the attack when government-backed negotiations for their release and the $150,000 ransom failed. Fellow rebel Nuon Paet was sentenced to life in prison for his role in it in June 1999. In his trial, he testified against Bith, claiming that Bith, his superior officer, ordered them killed. By the time the manhunt began that same year Bith was a general in the

Royal Cambodian Army The Royal Cambodian Army (, ; ) is a part of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. It has ground forces which numbered 85,000 divided into eleven divisions of infantry, with integrated armour and artillery support. The Royal Army is under the ju ...

after defecting from the Khmer Rouge in 1996. Bith was found following the publication in a Thai newspaper of reports of his lavish home in

Pailin Pailin (, ) is a province in western Cambodia at the northern edge of the Cardamom Mountains near the border of Thailand. This province is surrounded by Battambang province, and was officially carved out of Battambang to become a separate admi ...

in western Cambodia. He was charged with kidnapping, conspiring in premeditated murder, terrorism and robbery in December 2002 and was sentenced to life in prison. 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 Pol Pot (born Saloth Sâr; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian politician, revolutionary, and dictator who ruled the communist state of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 until Cambodian–Vietnamese War, his overthrow in 1979. During ...

several weeks before the train ambush. He had been suffering from health problems the day before his arrest and two doctors had been assigned to look over him. Bith died on February 15, 2008, aged 74. While no official cause of death has been given, his wife Khem Ri said he had been "very sick" with diabetes and high blood pressure and had been taken to Calmette Hospital ten days beforehand. Sam Bith is buried in a Chinese cemetery in Battambang, in accordance with his Sino-Khmer roots.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sam, Bith 1930s births 2008 deaths Cambodian military personnel Cambodian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Cambodia Cambodian people of Chinese descent Cambodian people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Cambodian detention Cambodian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Cambodia Communist Party of Kampuchea politicians