Skip to main content

A 2007 file photo shows a worker hoisting a national flag outside the Extraordinary Chambers of the Court of Cambodia on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.CHOR SOKUNTHEA/Reuters

A Canadian tourist is awaiting trial in Cambodia after being arrested on child-prostitution charges.

Officials in Siem Reap province told The Canadian Press early Friday that Vijai Indra Deo Kumar was arrested last week after he was allegedly found with a 14-year-old girl in a hotel.

Chhay Long of the Anti-Trafficking Police says the prosecution has handed over the case against the 70-year-old Kumar to the court for further investigation.

He says the suspect could remain in prison for up to six months before the trial begins.

Foreign Affairs had earlier confirmed that a Canadian had been detained in Cambodia.

It would not identify the person or confirm the nature of the arrest, saying only that diplomats in Cambodia were providing consular assistance.

Interact with The Globe