Phnom Penh Municipal Court Wednesday detained former Khmer Rouge general Khem Ngun and his subordinate, Loch Mao, for the execution of a British deminer and his Cambodian translator more than 10 years ago.

Christopher Howes and Huon Huot were killed in a kidnapping and ransom scam in Anlong Veng in 1996.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court Deputy Director Ke Sakhan said the courts had been unable to prosecute the case earlier because of civil strife.

"Loch Mao and Khem Ngun escaped into the jungle," he said. "We were not able to arrest them. They did not integrate with the government until 1998. They committed the killing in 1996."

"I arrested them with the court's warrant, which involved the killing of an English deminer and his Khmer translator in 1996," said Lt. Gen. Sao Sokha, a police spokesman.