PHNOM PENH, May 8 (Xinhua) -- A total of 296 prisoners in Cambodia had received reduced sentences on the occasion of the Visak Bochea, or Buddha's birthday, which will fall on May 11, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
Kim Santepheap, who is also a secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice, said Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni reduced jail terms for them at the request of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
He said the prisoners, including 28 female convicts, saw their jail terms reduced between three months and one year.
According to the country's law, a prisoner is qualified for a royal amnesty provided he or she has served at least two-thirds of the jail term and behaved well while serving time in prison.
For a jail-term cut, a well-behaved inmate, who has served one-third of the prison term, will see his or her jail term reduced.
However, Santepheap said no pardon or jail term commutation for the prisoners who had been sentenced for drug crimes, brutal acts, child rapes, gang rapes, and relative rapes.
The Southeast Asian country usually pardons or cuts jail terms for inmates on the occasions of the Victory Day, Khmer New Year, Visak Bochea Day, Independence Day, and Water Festival. ■
