04/24/2020 Cambodia (International Christian Concern) – Australian missionary Martin Chan, who was arrested last November while boarding a flight to Hong Kong, has been cleared of criminal fraud on April 21 amid a bitter legal dispute over the construction of a bilingual school.

Due to repeated delays in his case, Chan was not in court when the verdict was announced by a Cambodian appeals court judge, dismissing charges of criminal fraud brought against him. After his lawyer informed he that he was found not guilty, the 49-year-old missionary said, “It is a relief.”

Chan and his wife Deborah Kim, who he met in Sydney, arrived in Cambodia in 2013. The couple has spent most of their time working as Christian missionaries for a Korean charity called His Child, which contracted local firm PHV Construction to build a school for 1,000 bilingual students.

The huge project, however, was abandoned in 2016 after a dispute with the contractors that turned bitter. The case was referred to a civil court, the National Commercial Arbitration Centre, and Chan and his charity were cleared of all fault.

PHV subsequently filed a lawsuit against Chan, claiming that the building contract was terminated without reason, and names Chan and the director of His International Services as respondents who allegedly acted fraudulently. This led to his arrest last November. He was only released on bail on February 7 at his third attempt.

UCA News shares that his faith had kept him going throughout his four-year ordeal.

“I think it actually strengthened my faith, particularly when I spent three months inside prison. God has revealed many things that I can do in the future and that includes more social work inside the jail,” he said.

“I’d like to do more ministry-related work inside the prison because God has brought me to meet more people like the prison guards and the authorities, the police, and they were very supportive of that. It gave me an opportunity to connect with them in the future.”

He hopes to begin a new chapter of his life with his wife in Cambodia. The couple owns an optometry shop in Phnom Penh.

For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected].