A FORMER PRISON director of the notorious S-21 prison in Cambodia has been found guilty of crimes against humanity in a UN-backed court.

Kaing Guek Eav, known as “Duch”, was sentenced to 35 years in prison. However, Duch will not serve the full term, as the presiding judges reduced his sentence by five years due to the fact that he was illegally imprisoned.

The sentence was then further reduced by 11 years for time already served. Duch will therefore serve 19 years for his part in the torture and murder of his countrymen in the late 1970’s.

The building where Duch worked was originally a school but was converted into a prison by the ultra-communist Khmer Rogue regime, which aimed to create a classless society. In total 16,000 people were brought to the prison, where they were tortured, interrogated and eventually brought away to be murdered.

Of the 16,000 people who entered the S-21 prison just 12 came out alive.

During the communist revolution in Cambodia up to 1.7 million people died.

Duch has admitted his part in the Cambodian Genocide, saying the he was solely and individually responsible for about 12,380 deaths. He is the first high-ranking figure to be tried.