PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - A CAMBODIAN court sentenced a German man to 15 years in jail on Thursday for the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl, the latest foreigner to be caught in the southeast Asian nation's drive to stop child sex tourism.

Walter Munz, 61 and from Stuttgart, was arrested last year in a Phnom Penh guest house and accused of sharing a bed with the street girl and sexually abusing her four times.

The white-haired Munz, who appeared before the court in prison overalls, denied the charge and said he had been giving her $60 a month for school fees and food.

Poverty-stricken Cambodia has long had a reputation as a haven for paedophiles and perverts, due in large part to its corrupt police force and courts.

Child rights groups are campaigning hard for Phnom Penh to take the problem seriously. -- REUTERS