Prince Norodom Ranariddh has been charged with adultery for having a mistress while still being legally married to his wife, a Cambodian court official said yesterday. The prince, a former Prime Minister now living in France, faces up to a year in prison and fines of up to $245 if convicted, said Sok Kalyan, a prosecutor at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, adding that the charge was filed last month.

Muth Chantha, a spokesman for Ranariddh, said the charge is politically motivated. The prince?s opponents want to prevent him from returning to take part in political activity in Cambodia, Chantha said.

The adultery charge is the latest legal trouble facing Ranariddh, who was sentenced in absentia to 18 months in prison last week after being sued for embezzlement by members of the royalist Funcinpec party.